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CAPTAIN SAMUEL WARD 



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THE 



MilitaryAnnals OF Lancaster 



MASSACHUSETTS 



174O-1865. 



Including Lists of Soldiers serving in the Colonial and Revolutionary 

Wars for the Lancastrian Towns : Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, 

Leominster and Sterling. 



BY 



HENRY S. NOURSE, A. M. 



What heroes from the woodland sprung, 

When through the fresh awakened land 
The thrilling cry of freedom rung, 
And to the work of warfare strung 
The yeoman's iron hand. 

—Bryant. 



LANCASTER: 

1889. 






69:S3 

CLINTON, MASS.: 

w. J. COULTER, printp:k, courant office. 




PREFACE. 



The purpose of this work needs neither explanation 
nor excuse ; its short-comings, perhaps no one will more 
severely accuse than the author, while none but he can 
well appreciate the difficulties that have beset his patriotic 
task. The names and exploits of the local heroes who, 
with lavish expenditure of labor and life, helped gain and 
perpetuate the political and religious liberty we inherit, 
are mostly unknown to our generation. We perfunctorily 
honor the memory of those who achieved national fame — 
those whose names by chance of opportunity or high place 
are emblazoned upon historic tablets. Equally entitled to 
our grateful remembrance are the humbler patriots who, 
setting the nation's safety and liberation from wrong above 
the dearest ties, went out from rustic homesteads patiently 
to do and suffer, even to mortal agony, in behalf of coun- 
try, faith and freedom. Though but yeomen, uncult and 
obscure, they were imbued with a spirit of chivalry pure 
as that of any knight of romance. The stern virtues of 
Puritan ancestry again shone in them. If their deeds and 
sacrifices gained little lustre that time has not dimmed or 
destroyed, it is the fault of the local chroniclers. In this 
attempt to preserve for Lancaster an accurate compilation 



4 PREFACE. 

of its military history, the author asks credit only for faith- 
ful research and conscientious adherence to recorded facts. 

In the words of William Camden: "If any there be 
which are desirous to be strangers in their own soil, and 
foreigners in their own city, they may so continue, and 
therein flatter themselves. For such like I have not writ- 
ten these lines, nor taken these pains." 

Lancaster, July 4, 1889. 



Note. — Circumstances beyond control, and greatly regretted, have 
prevented the reproduction of the portraits of Generals John and Henry 
Whiting, Major Fabius Whiting and Captain Edward Richmond Wash- 
burn for presentation in this volume, as had been contemplated. 



CONTENTS 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN, 1739-1744. 

Earliest Military Records of Lancaster — The Expedition against 
Carthagena — Captain John Prescott's Enlistment Rolls. . . . 



9-15 



II. 

KING GEORGE'S WAR, 1744-1748. 

I. The Siege of Louisbourg. 

Governor Shirley's Foresight and Plans — Colonel Samuel 

Willard's Regiment — Experiences of Lancaster Soldiers. 16-24 

II. Indian Raids. 

The Capture of Fitch's Garrison — Lists of Scouts — Forts 

Dummer and Number Four 24-29 



III. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 1754-1763. 

I. The Crown Point Expedition of 1755. 

Colonel Samuel Willard's Death — Excise upon Vehicles and 
Table Luxuries — Lancaster Men upon the Frontiers in 
1754 — The Second Colonel Samuel Willard and his Reg- 
iment — Captains Benjamin Ballard, Joseph and Asa Whit- 
comb and their Companies, in the Battle of Lake George — 
Petitions of Lancaster Soldiers 30-41 

II. Lancaster in Acadia and the Acadians in Lancaster. 
Roster of Captain Abijah Willard's Company — Extracts from 

his Orderly Book — Hardships of the Campaign — The 
French Neutrals in Lancaster 41-52 



CONTENTS. 



III. The Second Crown Point Expedition and Fort Wil- 

liam Henry, i7S^-^7S7 
Colonel John Whitcomb and Lancaster Men on the Hudson 

— Lists of Lancaster Soldiers in the Expedition of 1756 — 
Captain 15enjamin Ballard's Loss — The Alarm at Capture 

of Fort William Henry 52-63 

IV. The Conquest of Canada, 1758-1763. 

Return of William Pitt to Power — Abercrombie's Defeat at 
Ticonderoga — Men of Lancaster in the Campaign — Peti- 
tions of SutTerers — Lancastrian Volunteers of 1759 — Col- 
onel Abijah Willard — Campaign Incidents — Enlistments 
of 1760 — Extracts from Colonel John Whitcomb's Orderly 
Book — The Dead — In Garrison, 1761-2 — The Officers 
of the Lancaster Militia Regiment 63-89 

IV. 

THE WAR FOR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE. 

I. From Town-Meeting to Continental Congress. 

Reverend John Mellen's Prophecy — The Growth of DisatTec- 
tion — Rebellious Resolves of Lancaster Town-meeting in 
1773 — Town action during 1774-5 — Hezekiah Gates's 
Pamphlet-^ Lancaster in the County Conventions — Jonas 
Wyman's " Satisfaction." 90-104 

II. The Lexington Alarm. 

General John and Colonel Asa Whitcomb — The Training 
Bands, their Organization and Equipment — The Men who 
Marched to Cambridge, April 19, 1775, from Lancaster 
and adjacent Towns 105-117 

III. Bunker Hill and Siege of Boston. 

John Whitcomb, first Major-General of Massachusetts Army 

— The Lancaster Regiment under Colonel Asa Whitcomb 
• — Its presence at Bunker Hill — Company Rosters — Cap- 
tain Aaron Willard's Mission to Acadia — Colonel Whit- 
comb's Unselfish Patriotism — Death of Surgeon Enoch 

Dole — Colonel Whitcomb's Misfortunes 117-141 

IV. The Campaign of 1776-1777. 

Lancaster Soldiers at Hull — Companies of Captain Samuel 
Sawyer and Jabez Keep at Kip's Bay and White Plains — 
Colonel Aaron Willard — Captain Manasseh Sawyer's 
Company at Dorchester — Soldiers of Lancaster at Quebec 

— Captain David Nurse's Company in the Jerseys — Organ- 
ization of a Continental Army — Substitutes — Town- 
meeting action, 1776-1778 141-155 



CONTENTS. 



V. Short Service Enlistments, 1777-1782. 

Lancaster Soldiers in the Rhode Island Service — The Ben- 
nington Alarm — Re-enforcements for the Continental 
Army — Town Records 1778-1780 — Guarding Prisoners 

— The Marine Service '55-177 

VI. Lancaster in the Continental Army. 

Quotas of the Lancastrian Towns — List of Lancaster's Con- 
tinental Soldiers — Records of Town's action, 17H1 — 
Continental Soldiers of liolton. Harvard and Leominster. 178-194 

VII. Lancaster Loyalists. 

The Wiilards — Confiscated Estates — Samuel Stearns, LL. D. 

— Nahum Houghton the " Tea Peddler" — The Black List 

— Reverend Timothy Harrington's Defence in Town-meet- 
ing 194-209 

VIII. Statistics and Social Annals. 

Census and Valuation Returns — Mechanics and Manufac- 
turers — Depreciation in Paper Currency — Counterfeit 
Money — First Recorded Donation Party — Regulating the 
Prices of Necessaries of Life by Convention — Tax Assess- 
ments of 1779-1780 — Beef and Clothing furnished the 
Army — Substitutes for Tea, etc. — Boston Exiles in Lan- 
caster — British and Tory Prisoners — Negro Slaves and 
Soldiers — The Post-office and the News-carrier — Cele- 
bration of Cornwallis's Surrender — Lafayette's Visit, 1824. 209-244 

V. 

SHAYS'S INSURRECTION AND INDIAN WAR. 1783-1794. 

Distress among the Yeomani-y — County Conventions — Lancas- 
ter's Instructions to her Representative — Colonel William 
Greenleaf — The Insurrection Crushed — Rolls of the Vol- 
unteers — Death of Captain Andrew Haskell 245-259 

VI. 

WARS WITH ENGLAND AND ALGIERS, 1812-1815. 

The Embargo — Lancaster's Petition to the President — Major 
Hiller — Timothy and John Whiting — Impressment of Amer- 
ican Sailors — Remonstrance against Declaration of War — 
The Alarm at Boston — The Lancaster Artillery Company — 
Lancaster in the Regular Army — Lancaster's Augustan Age 
— The Mail Stage and Country Taverns — Huskings, Rais- 
ings and Auctions — Types of Citizens — The Minister — 
Lancaster's Classical School and its Founders — The First 
Cotton Mill — William Shaler in Algiers 260-284 



8 CONTENTS. 

VII. 

THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865. 

I. Action of Town and Societies. 

The Apple of Discord — Anniversary of Lexington in 1861 — 
The Fay Light Guard — Ball's BlulT — The Independent 
Phalanx — The Soldiers' Relief Association — Bounties for 
Recruits — The Union Club — The Draft — Woman's 
Work — Soldiers' Aid — The Town's Officers 285-305 

II. Descriptive Roster of Lancaster Soldiers. 

Of Massachusetts Organizations in Numerical Order — Serv- 
ing in other States — Veterans Re-enlisted — Drafted Men 
— Summary — Soldiers' Graves in Lancaster, 1889. . . .306-338 

VIII. . 

APPENDIX. 

I. John Prescott, the Founder of Lancaster 339-366 

II. Captain Samuel Ward 367-368 

III. Captain George Lee Thurston 368-371 

IV. Brevet Brigadier-General Francis Washburn. . . . 371-375 

IX. 

INDEX. 



MILITARY ANNALS 



OF 



LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 



I. 

THE WAR WITH SPAIN. 

1739-1744- 

IN The Early Records of Lancaster, printed by the 
author in 1884, the experiences of that town in warfare 
previous to 1725 have been fully detailed. Before that 
date Lancaster's adult male population were practically 
always soldiers, were constantly menaced by savage foes, 
and often fought in defence of their lives and homes. Two, 
at least, of her earliest pioneers, John Prescott and William 
Kerley, had probably served in the army of the mother 
land ; certainly they brought with them into the wilderness 
the arms and armor characteristic of the Cromwellian sol- 
dier. Another of her leaders. Major Simon Willard, on 
his coming from England bore the title, captain, and, at 
the outbreak of the war called King Philip's, held the 
highest military rank then recognized in the colony, hon- 
oring the position by his bravery, energy and skill during 
the earliest horrors of that bloody episode in New England 
history. Lieutenants William and Henry Kerley and 
Thomas Wilder, and Ensigns John Divoll and John Moore 
trained the first military company of the town under the 
2 



lO ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

immediate supervision of Major Willard. Scarce an inven- 
tory of the period but contains, listed among humble do- 
mestic appointments and the utensils of husbandry, various 
articles of a soldier's equipment. Jacob Farrar, the head 
of a family noted for its many martyrs in Indian warfare, 
possessed "a Gulliver Gun." Reverend John Whiting, 
who, surprised by savages in the field, bravely refusing 
quarter fought until slain, had five "fire arms," appraised 
after his death at four pounds. In the property schedules 
of seven other Lancaster planters figure these items : 

Three musketts, one sword, one p'' bandiliers and one pistol! and 
bullets, 3^ 16'' ... . 

4 gunns, I cutlash t,£. y . . . . 

Iron cloathes 2£. — military books .... 

One muskett 12% one sword and Rest 12" 

A snapsack and bag y. A pike 2^ 6'' 

A muskett, a sword, one rest and a snapsacke 2£. . . . 

One Gun, one sword 2j£ 4'; one halibut i6% 2 mu.squetts one cut- 
lash i^ 18^ 

Of a frontier tow^n, standing in the advance guard of 
Puritan civilization, Lancaster's yeomen were too com- 
pletely engrossed in the hard struggle for existence to 
spare volunteers for service on other battle grounds than 
those within a day's march of their own hearthstones. 
Nevertheless, some adventurous spirits joined the little 
armies from time to time organized for the invasion of 
Canada. In Sir William Phip's disgracefully unfortunate 
attempt upon Quebec in 1690, Benjamin Willard served as 
lieutenant, and of several townsmen w^ho are supposed to 
have accompanied him were : Joseph Atherton, Jonathan 
Fairbank, John Pope, Samuel Wheeler and Timothy 
Wheelock. Of these, Wheeler, if not others, died in the 
service. The two Acadian expeditions of 1707 and 1710 
had such enthusiastic support in Massachusetts that Lan- 
caster was doubtless well represented therein ; but the only 
record thus far discovered to prove this, is an item in the 
inventory presented by the administrator of a deceased 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN. II 

soldier, Ralph Houghton, filed in the Middlesex Probate 
Registry. Captains Jabez Fairbank, John White and Sam- 
uel Willard, during Lovewell's War, 1722-1726, leading 
their neighbors, won repute as able commanders of rangers, 
and made it hazardous for the savages to venture far south 
of the fountains of the Merrimac. For fifteen years the 
arts of peace had been undisturbed by war's alarms, and 
swords had grown rusty in their scabbards, when the re- 
cruiting officer in 1740 drummed for recruits in Lancaster. 
Great Britain, committed to a blindly selfish commer- 
cial policy, held a monopoly of the trade in African slaves, 
and her merchants were enriched by the enormous gains 
of their smuggling and man-stealing ventures. She exer- 
cised the right of search upon the seas and denied it to 
Spain. She demanded the privileges of free trade from 
other powers, but persistently refused them to the North 
American colonies — a lesson of the mother land which 
they remembered and acted upon in after time. At length, 
having forced war upon Spain under pretended champion- 
ship of free commerce, England called upon her colonies 
to aid in an expedition sent under command of Vice-Admiral 
Edward Vernon to assail the Spanish strongholds in the 
West Indies. Massachusetts was required to furnish a reg- 
iment, and the organization of one was nearly perfected, 
officers and men being enrolled and assembled at Boston. 
The bills for expenditures in levying some of its companies 
are extant, and the methods of the recruiting officers of 
that day are illustrated by the recurrence of such charges 
as these : 



To Drummers and Liquor expended, 

To Ribbons for cockades, 50 yards C«) 2/ . . . . 

For some reason only four captains' commissions were 
receivfd from the king instead of the ten expected. These 
were bestowed upon John Prescott, who was to have been 
colonel of the regiment, Daniel Goffe, Thomas Phillips 
and George Stewart. The other companies were dis- 



12 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

banded. Dr. William Douglass, in his Summary, stales 
that this disastrous enterprise cost the province seven thou- 
sand pounds sterling, and that "of the 500 men sent out 
from Massachusetts Bay not exceeding 50 returned." The 
majority fell victims to pestilential disease during the siege 
of Carthagena, or at Jamaica, whither the enfeebled rem- 
nant of the defeated army was withdrawn. Joseph Willard, 
Esq., in a note to page 50 of the History of Lancaster, 
states that "there were eighteen or nineteen in this expedi- 
tion who belonged to Lancaster; none of them lived , to 
return." He had good authority for claiming in behalf of 
this little town so large an enlistment, although it seems 
almost incredible that it should have furnished nearly one 
twenty-fifth of the whole quota of the commonwealth. 

The town's volunteers must be looked for in the com- 
pany of which a Lancaster man, Jonathan Houghton, was 
lieutenant ; the other companies were recruited far from 
here, and in their rolls, as found, no Lancaster family 
names are discovered. Captain John Prescott of Concord 
was a direct descendant of the founder of Lancaster, whose 
name he bore. His enlistment roll, sadly mutilated, is 
preserved in Massachusetts Archives, xci, 333. It was 
written upon both sides of a single sheet, and the right- 
hand columns of the first page, which included residences 
and dates of muster, have been torn ofl^" and are missing. 
Thereby thirty-six names borne upon the reverse page are 
lost. The sixty-five names remaining follow : 

A List of such Persons as are Enterd-. as Vol 

In the West Indies Under the Co?nmand of 



Persons Names 


Of what Town born 


Age 


Calling Time 


of Enlisting 


Jonathan Houghton 


Lancaster 


2,7 


Husbandman 


July 14 


Obadiah Foster 


Billerica 


18 


Cordwainer 


May 22 


Jon'' Heywood 


Concord 


22 


Tanner 


May 22 


Gideon Powers 


Lexington 


33 


Husbandman 


July 14 


Oliver Spaulding 


Chelmsford 


29 


" 


July 15 


Thos Pool 


Lynn 


32 


Physician 


May F' 


Robert Waite 


Weston 


41 


Husbandman 


July 12 


William Stevens 


Dublin 


30 


" 


July 23 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN. 



13 



Persons Names 


Of what Town born 


Age 


Calling Time of Enlisting 


"^ Thos Johnson 


Concord 


24 


Tanner 


May 14 


Asa Dous^lass 


Plainfield 


24 


Cordwainer 


May 20 


Timothy Rigbee 


Concord 


30 


Husbandman 


May 28 


John Train 


Watertown 


50 


" 


July 22 


Joshua Parker 


Groton 


39 


Gentelman 


July I 


Jacob Wilder 


Lancaster 


23 


Husbandman 


July 14 


Jona. Brown 


Concord 


41 


Blacksmith 


May 22 


John Page 


, South Carolina 


24 


Husbandman 


July 25 


Daniel Albert 


Rainshall ( ?) 


39 


" 


July 14 


James Carey 


Newport 


24 


Farmer 


July 22 


Peter Kendall 


Woburn 


29 


Husbandman 


July 14 


John Fitzgerald 


Cork 


37 


Nailer 


May 15 


Nehemiah Stevens 


Almsbury 


24 


Cordwainer 


June 2 


Timothy Power 


Littleton 


24 


Husbandman 


July 14 


Darias Wheeler 


Marlborough 


21 


" 


July 14 


William Chubb 


Woburn 


25 


Weaver 


July 24 


Demas Wells 


Ireland 


24 


Labourer 


July II 


Samuel King 


Worcester 


20 


" 


July II 


Thomas Queen 


Ireland 


21 


'• 


July 12 


James Billings 


Concord 


23 


Nailer 


May 15 


Nathaniel Munroe 


Lexington 


20 


Joyner 


May 28 


Benjamin Frey 


Grafton 


43 


Labourer 


July 14 


Mathusala Oliver 


Boston 


17 


" 


May 15 


John Parker jun'' 


Sudbury 


21 


" 


July 10 


Ephraim Fletcher 


Chelmsford 


30 


" 


July 14 


Ebenez"" Lampson 


Concord 


24 


Husbandman 


May 15 


Nathan Stow 


Concord 


18 


Labourer 


July 12 


Benjamin Melvin 


Charlestown 


45 


Blacksmith 


July 23 


Jona Jackson 


Framingham 


22 


Husbandman 


May 20 


Daniel Barney 


Concord 


27 


Millwright 


May 12 


Joshua Winship 


Lexington 


24 


Labourer 


May 15 


John Norcross 


Watertown 


43 


Cordwainer 


May 20 


John Nixon 


Ireland 


20 


Husbandman 


July 10 


Mathew Galbreth 


Ireland 


18 


" 


July 18 


John Parker 


Billerica 


42 


" 


May i^t 


"^ Richard Wheeler 


Worcester 


19 


" 


July 23 


Isaac Knights 


Sudbury 


22 


" 


July 14 


Christopher Stevens 


Almsbury 


20 


" 


July 20 


John Stewart 


Salem 


25 


Housewright 


July 23 


Stephen Kendall 


Woburn 


23 


Labourer 


May 26 


Josiah Holt 


Andover 


19 


Blacksmith 


July 21 


Ephraim Roper 


Sudbury 


23 


Husbandman 


May 26 


Josiah Blanchard 


Groton 


40 


Blacksmith 


May 10 


Ezekiel Kendall 


Lexington 


24 


Husbandman 


July 15 



H 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Persons Names 


Of what Town born 


Age 


Calling Time of Enlisting 


Joshua Peirce 


Woburn 


22 


Housewright 


July 14 


Jeremiah Smith 


Needham 


l8 


Blacksmith 


July 27 


Henry Durant 


Billerica 


39 


" 


May 23 


Zachry Blood 


Concord 


33 


Husbandman 


May 21 


Thos Barron 


Concord 


29 


Tinman 


May 23 


William Day 


Cape Ann 


21 


Husbandman 


May 15 


William Whitcomb 


Lancaster 


30 


" 


July 18 


Henry Jones 


Concord 


23 


Clothier 


July 18 


Richard Nevers 


Woburn 


20 


Blacksmith 


May 5 


Jonathan Pike 


Concord 


23 


Cordwainer 


May 20 


Benjamin Pollard 


Billerica 


23 


Husbandman 


July 15 


Peter Grouts 


Sudbury 


25 


" 


May 25 


Zach" Bunn 


Concord 


29 


Peat-maker 


May 20 



Of the thirty-six missing names, four were of volunteers 
whose "present habitation" is recorded as Lancaster, and 
three were of Bolton. Identity in the dates of enlistment 
— July 14 and 15 — and the bearing family names then 
common in the town, point to these fifteen as residents of 
Lancaster, although two or three of them may have been 
of Bolton : 



Jonathan Houghton, 
Gideon Powers, 
Oliver Spaulding, 
Daniel Albert, 
Peter Kendall. 



Timothy Power, 
Darius Wheeler, 
Jacob Wilder, 
Benjamin Frey, 
Ephraim Fletcher. 



Isaac Knights, 
Ezekiel Kendall, 
Joshua Peirce, 
William Whitcomb, 
Benjamin Pollard. 



Joseph Willard, Esq., quotes from a letter written by 
Jacob Wilder, at Jamaica, in December, 1740, wherein, 
after mentioning a number of his acquaintances who had 
died, he adds : "through the providence of God, I am in 
nomination for an Ensign, and I hope I may be fitted for 
it." By signatures to the oath of the officers, found in 
Massachusetts Archives, lxxii, 517, it appears that Jona- 
than Houghton held commission as a subaltern. Daniel 
Albert's name has a line drawn through it, which probably 
indicates that he did not go with the expedition. He had 
been a soldier in Lovewell's War, and was living in Lan- 
caster after the close of the Spanish War. Two of the lost 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN. 15 

Lancaster names are disclosed by a memorial dated 1742, 
found in Massachusetts Archives, xviii, 64, wherein the 
petitioners are heirs of " David and Nathan Farrar, late of 
■ Lancaster, * * * both Died in his majestie's sarvis in 
the West Indies sometime Last year." Perhaps two others, 
John Hastings and Thaddeus Houghton, are given in this 
certificate subscribed to the roll : 

Suffolk ss. Boston, ye 27"^, 1740. It is hereby Certefied thatt John 
Hastings, Joseph Bulkley, James Jeiferies, Thadeus Houghton mentioned 
in this List appeared before me and Seve-'ally Declared y'. they did Vol- 
untaryly enlist in his maj'sty's Service under the Command of Capt. John 
Prescott 

It seems not improbable that three or four of these men 
survived to return from the West Indies. The names Peter 
and Ezekiel Kendall, Joshua Peirce and William Whit- 
comb appear in muster-rolls again a few years later. But 
neither history nor tradition throws further light upon the 
deeds or sufferings of the Lancaster volunteers in this un- 
fortunate expedition. 



II. 

KING GEORGE'S WAR 
1744-1749- 



I. THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 

WHEN the traditional rivals, France and England, be- 
came involved upon opposing sides in the War for 
the Austrian Succession, it was inevitable that sooner or 
later their provinces of New England and Canada should 
be drawn into the conflict ; and the so called King George's 
War was but an episode in the great struggle over the 
balance of power between the European potentates. Nova 
Scotia, or Acadia as it was then named, including New 
Brunswick with boundaries ill defined, had been a British 
possession from its conquest in 1710, although its inhabi- 
tants vvere almost exclusively French Catholics ; while the 
islands, including Cape Breton, were retained by France. 
The news of the formal declaration of war reached Breton 
three weeks before it arrived in Boston, and was taken 
advantage of by the French to surprise and capture Can- 
seau, the inhabitants of which were carried prisoners to 
Louisbourg. The situation of affairs was ominous of ruin 
for Massachusetts. Her valuable cod fisheries must be 
abandoned, and her shipping lay at the mercy of French 
privateers. Acadia was nearly defenceless, and if forced 
to succumb even New England might not long be able to 
escape French domination. No boundary could be peace- 
fully permanent that divided Jesuit from Puritan, and while 
the Catholic French could plan forays from the safe vantage 
ground of the impregnable fortresses of Louisbourg and 



SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 1^ 

Quebec, so long the New England Protestants could expect 
to sow in fear, never certain of a harvest. 

William Shirley, Governor of Massachusetts, was gifted 
with great political sagacity. His military ability, though 
not of a high order, commands respect, because contrasted 
with the obstinate adherence to traditional methods, the 
blundering and inefficiency of Braddock, Loudoun and 
Abercrombie. He clearly saw that only by the capture of 
Louisbourg could safety be insured New England, and, 
like Cato of old, he successfully impressed it upon the 
councils of the commonwealth that this Carthage must be 
destroyed. Some of the prisoners taken at Canseau, when 
exchanged, brought from Louisbourg reliable description 
of its fortifications and information that disclosed supposed 
vulnerable points. This fortress had been perfected in all 
the defences then known to military art, at a cost to France 
of thirty millions of livres. Over one hundred guns, mostly 
of heavy calibre, were mounted in the various batteries, 
and six months' provisions for the garrison were kept in 
store. An English officer familiar with the works wrote 
that an army assaulting them would have the same prospect 
of success "as the Devils might have in storming Heaven." 
Shirley, however, was in no way dismayed at the difficul- 
ties presented, and the people then trusted Shirle}^ The 
preparations for attack were made with all possible speed 
and secrecy. The greatest enthusiasm was aroused, ac- 
companied with such religious fervor that the expedition 
resembled a crusade of the Middle Ages. In two months' 
time thirty-two hundred and fifty men of Massachusetts, 
with eight hundred and twenty from Connecticut and New 
Hampshire, were assembled. 

Besides that of William Pepperrell, Esq., commander-in- 
chief of the land forces, there were five infantry regiments, 
led from Massachusetts by Colonels Samuel Waldo, Jere- 
miah Moulton, Robert Hale, Sylvester Richmond and 
Samuel Willard. The last officer was of Lancaster, and 



l8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



commanded the Worcester County regiment, known as the 
Fourth Massachusetts. The roster of its officers follows : 

COMPANY. CAPTAINS. LIEUTENANTS. ENSIGNS. 

f Colonel Samuel Willard. Abijah Willard. Jonathan Trumbull. 

' \ Capt. -Lieut. Joshua Pierce. 

2 Lt.-Col. Thomas Chandler. John Payson. David King. 

3 Major Seth Poniroy. Ebenezer Alexander. William Lyman. 

4 John Warner. Joseph Whitcomb. William Hutchins. 

5 Uavid Melvin. Eleazar Melvin. Isaac Barron. 

6 Palmer Goulding. John Sterns. Nathaniel Payson. 

7 James Stevens. Timothy Johnson. 

8 John Huston. Reuben King. Benjamin Sheldon. 

9 Joseph Miller. Samuel Chandler. John Mann. 
ID Jabez Olmstead. James Frye. John Bell. 

Jonathan Hubbard, Adjutant. 

Besides their larger commands, it was customary at this 
date for field officers to have companies ; and general offi- 
cers were also colonels of regiments. The three officers 
of the fourth company were of Lancaster, and both Whit- 
comb and Hutchins had served an apprenticeship in the 
art of war with Captain John White, in 1725. In this 
company and that of Colonel Willard were the volunteers 
of Lancaster and its neighborhood, probably full fifty in 
number; but much research has failed to discover any 
company rolls of this regiment, and our townsmen's names 
are mostly unknown. Colonel Willard's acceptance of his 
appointment, written with his characteristic orthography, 
is found among the Pepperrell Papers belonging to the 
Massachusetts Historical Society : 

To the Honorable IVzlliam Pepper ell Esqii^. In Boston 

Lancaster Feb""'': ye: 25"^ : 1744 
Hono^d-_ Sir. I Receiued orders from the Govener the 19*: day of 
Feb'^: to take upon me the Command of a Rigement though very unequel 
to that Trust. I do it with a great deal more Plasure, hauing so good a 
general to Instruct me — Sir I hope you will Excuse me if I am not Ready 
So Soon as the others Colonals. I am Constonant Rideing both Night 
and day to accomplish my byseness and I intento wait upon your honnor 
Next week Sir I haue a good Prospect of geting men Sir I haue been 
in an Army Knowing the Diffeculty being in it — I think it my Deuty to 



SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 19 

Put you in mind to See that the Committy byes a quantety of fat wethers 
for it is very Necessary for Solders when they are Sick and if the Com- 
mitty Sends me word I could get a Score or more Honered Sir. Giue my 
Regards to Co": Molten. So I Remain your Humble Servent- 

Samll; Willard 

The experience of an army which the colonel claims, 
had been gained in the scouts of Lovewell's War. When, 
in September, 1725, he commanded two companies of 
rangers, he dignified that force in his journal as "the army." 
The volunteers were required to clothe and arm themselves, 
and the pay of a private was but twenty-five shillings per 
month, nezv tenor — equal to about two ounces of silver, — 
although farm laborers at the time commanded nearly 
double that sum. As the expedition sailed from Boston 
March 24, 1745, it is evident from the date of Colonel 
Willard's appointment that he recruited his regiment, num- 
bering about five hundred men, in thirty days. This tes- 
tifies both to the popularity of the leader and the rehgious 
ardor that fired the troops. " In the name of God they set 
up their banners and away they sailed. Pray /or us and 
we will fght for you, was the valiant and endearing lan- 
guage wherewith they left us," says Reverend Thomas 
Prince in his Thanksgiving Sermon, July 18, 1745. "Brown 
bread and the Gospel is good fare," was the proverb with 
which they cheered each other on in the trials of siege. 
One chaplain, if we may trust the story, armed himself 
with a hatchet for the express purpose of demolishing the 
images in the Catholic churches ; and George Whitefield 
is credited with furnishing the motto upon the flag, — JVtl 
Dcspcrandum Christo Duce. Arriving before Louisbourg 
on the thirteenth of April, "less than four thousand men, 
unused to war, undisciplined, and that had never seen a 
siege in their lives," landed on a dangerous coast in the 
face of the enemy, with Herculean labor dragged siege 
guns over rocky hills and through morasses, girt the forti- 
fications about with batteries, and by sheer audacity com- 
pelled surrender on the seventeenth of June, 1745 — the 



10 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



day made yet more memoralile in the calendar thirty years 
later at Bunker Hill. The English admiral, Peter Warren, 
was present with his fleet to claim large share in the honors, 
and grasp all the prizes of victory, but he did not fire a 
gun during the siege, and the real glory of the wondrous 
achievement belonged to the men of New England. 

Massachusetts at this date had a population of about 
two hundred thousand souls, and expended in this expedi- 
tion more than two pounds sterling for her every man, 
woman and child. The prizes of war exceeded in value 
a million pounds, but all the proceeds went to the navy and 
the king's chest, while the provinces waited three years be- 
fore their expenses even were repaid ; and then the re- 
imbursement was granted as the gracious beneficence of 
his majesty, not as a debt due. William Pepperrell, Esquire, 
who commanded the provincials, was knighted — the only 
reward of distinguished service received by any New Eng- 
land officer. The exalted estimate of the importance of 
the victory at the time, is exhibited by the fact that as the 
news of it reached in turn Boston, New York, Philadelphia 
and even London, the people became wild with joyful ex- 
citement ; and as night came on, in each of these cities, 
great bonfires and general illumination lighted crowds up- 
roarious in unrestricted rejoicing. A few days after the 
surrender. Colonel Willard signed the following letter at 
Gabarus Bay, the intrenched camp at that point having 
been ordered to be destroyed, after removal of its stores to 
the city of Louisbourg. The report that a large body of 
French and Indians was near at hand meditating an attack 
upon it, accounts for the worthy colonel's very marked 
uneasiness : 

Honoicred Sir: . According to your Honour's order I have Attended 
my Duty at the Camp with Col°: Donnel Col": Meshervay and Col": Chand- 
ler, have with me eight comp": of my own Regiment Except what are at 
ye out housen and In ye City to attend ye Sick. Col": Moulton has i6o 
men here belonging to his Regiment, Col": Moore 140 belonging to his, 
Col° Hale about 18 men belonging to his, Col° Burr 40 men belonging to 



SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 21 

his ye others have Sent None to guard us Vizt: Brig^ Waldo, Col" Storer 
Col" Richmond and Col" Gorham I would pray that your Honour would 
see us well Guarded. I am Ready and Willing always to obey your Hon- 
ours Commands In every thing I am Capable of. I expected to have a 
sloop here to Day to take away all y'' Stores but am Disappointed which 
makes all y«' officers very uneasy. 

I am your Honours Dutifull 
Camp June 26"' 1745. Obedient and Very Humble Servant 

Samll; Willard. 

P. S. Mr Cosbee has been here w"^ a french Gentleman to View y<^ 
Camp and is Returned (as I suppose) to y" City again and it gives us all 
matter of uneasiness had it been known Sooner some of y"' officers would 
have taken them up and Confined them untill they had Known your Hon- 
ours Pleasure. 

I am your Honours Humble Serv'. 
Endorsed, — Sam Willard 

May it please your Honour Since y*" Letter was Writt and Sealed up 
Several Vessels are Com to Recive y*" Stores (as I suppose) S. W- 

Super scribed, — 

To Geiicrall Pepper ell, l?i the City of Cape Breton . 

[Pepperrell Papers, 206.J 

On July 31, Abijah Willard was promoted captain- 
lieutenant of the first company, and his brother Levi was 
made ensign. They were sons of the colonel, the former 
being twenty-one years of age, and Levi, eighteen. En- 
dorsed upon a petition of certain officers of the regiment, 
asking that in the consolidation of the forces retained to 
garrison Louisbourg they and their men might be joined 
with Brigadier-General Samuel Waldo's regiment, is this 
letter : 

Uzs Excellency W'" Sherley Esq>-: 

This is to inform your Exelency That my Regiment is not SettH: so 
as to be in any Capassity of doing their duty as thay ought to do — and it 
is by Reason of ye Companys being Very much Broke : and in order for 
the Settlement of the Companys In my Regiment and for the Peace and 
Quietness of the Soldiers: I shall take it as a Grate Favour Done to me : 
if your Exelency would See Cause [To Commiteonate Those Gentleman 
Hereafter Nam'^: John Huston, James Fry, John Fry Nath": Pettengell 
To be the officers over the men that belong*^ to Leut: Coll" Chandler's Com- 
pany and Capt: James Stevens's Comp"- Jona: Hubard Benijah Austin & 
Elisha Strong To be the officers over the men belonging To Maj'' Pomroy's 



22 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Comp": & Capt: Millers ; Ephriam Hayward and John Bell & Dudley 
Bradstreet To be the officers over the men that are Left of Capt: Warner's 
Comp'^: & Capt: Omsteds. In So Doing you will Oblige your most obe- 
dient and Humble Servant Samll: Willard 

LouiSBOURGE Ocf: the 2 day 1745 

[Pepperrell Papers, 319.J 

The rigors of the climate and the toil of the siege told 
severely upon even the hardy yeomen of New England, 
and the victims of disease far outnumbered the killed and 
wounded in the lines. Thomas Littlejohn fell in action, 
but how many others of Lancaster is unknown. Among 
those who died in hospital was Captain John Warner. 
Hundreds of the sick and enfeebled were at length per- 
mitted to return home, and the depleted companies were 
consolidated and garrisoned the fortified city until the fol- 
lowing April. The Lancaster officers mostly escaped the 
winter's hardships and the terrible camp fevers which 
wasted the army that remained. The two documents that 
follow — numbers 331 and 335 of the Pepperrell Papers — 
close our record of Lancaster men in the Louisbourg cam- 
paign of 1745 : 

To his Excellency Williavi Shirley Esq^- Capt: Gem: &r'c. 

May it please your Excellency Since my Company is Come under Capt: 
Hubbard I Would Pray your Excellency To Dismis me and Grant me the 
favour of going home with my father and allso John Warner son of Capt: 
John Warner who Died in this Place above a month ago he is a Lad of 
about Twelve years of age &c 

From your Excellency's most Humble Servt: 

Abijah Willakd 
Subscribed, — Louisbourg 12"^ Octo 1745 

Capt: Lieut Abijah Willard of Col° : Samuel Willard's Regiment, hav- 
ing assigned over his Company by their Consent to Cap': Jonathan Hub- 
bard in Brigadier Gen^: Waldo's regim': and having petitioned for a 
discharge from the service is hereby accordingly dismissed, & permitted to 
return to New England & to take with him a youth of about twelve years 
old the son of Capt: John Warner late Dec**'*: W. Shirley 

LouiSBOURGE Octob'': 17* 1745 
Lt. Coll" Pitts, Maj'' Hodges, Coll": Saml. Willard, Ensign Benj'^ Black- 
ston, Leut. Edw'^ Prat being unable to do duty by reason of a bad state of 



SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. 23 

health and being desirous to be Dismist His Majesty's Service in this Gar- 
rison, it is hereby Granted and they Accordingly Dismist. 

Pr Warren W. Shirley 

W. Pepperrell 

The following year the country was in continual unrest, 
knowing that France had fitted out an armada, headed by 
forty war ships under the Duke d'Anville, to ravage the 
coast of New England. The militia to the number of over 
six thousand were stationed at Boston, and various forts 
upon the coast were rebuilt and garrisoned. A letter 
printed in American Archives, iv, i, 1168, states that "forty 
thousand men marched down to Boston and were mustered 
and numbered upon the Common, complete in arms from 
this Province only, in three weeks." Muster rolls of this 
period are not found, but a few items preserved testify to 
Lancaster's active participation in the public anxiety : 

Lancaster April y« 29, 1747 
Maj. Larance, Sir, Please to pay Capt. Abijah Willard our wages 
and Billet which is Due to us upon your muster not paid for going downe 
to Boston upon a larm. In so doing you will oblege your humbel servants 
and his Receipt shall be your discharge. 

his 

John Osgood John White John -|- Haris 

mark 

Nathaniel White James Houghton Benjamin Houghton Jr. 

for Elijah. 

October 10, 1746, the Council issued a warrant: 

To Cp'. Ephraim Sawyer and the Company, in His Majesties Service 
on the Frontiers, the sum of Two Hundred and nine Pounds two Shillings 
and nine pence (to each Person the sum set against his name) to discharge 
his Muster Roll beginning May 16. 1746 and ending June 30, 1746. 

A letter from Secretary Josiah Willard to Admiral War- 
ren — Massachusetts Archives, liii, 195, — mentions Jacob 
Willard as a midshipman. For many weeks the people of 
Massachusetts, resolute but hardly hopeful of the result, 
were waiting in dread suspense the coming of their power- 
ful foe. England made no effort to shield them from the 



24 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



impending ruin, but Providence was upon their side. A 
fierce tempest smote the French fleet and scattered it ; 
the sailors and soldiers were decimated by disease, and 
D'Anville died on September 26. New England was 
spared. 



II. INDIAN RAIDS. 

We have no record that the soldiers of Lancaster were 
again called into service until 1748, when, on July 5, a 
band of fourscore savages made a revengeful raid under 
the lead of a half-civilized Indian, Surdody by name, upon 
the lonely garrison of John Fitch, a carpenter, living in 
what is now Ashby. Zaccheus Blodgett and Jennings, two 
soldiers there stationed, were slain, and Fitch, with his 
wife Susannah, and children Catharine, John, Paul, Susan- 
nah and Jacob were carried away captive. Colonel Samuel 
Willard ordered out various companies of militia from the 
neighboring towns in pursuit ; and the marauders would 
probably have suffered dearly for their temerity, but for a 
warning conveyed to the angry pursuers by a note which 
Fitch fastened to a tree. The savages had resolved, if 
attacked by the rangers, to kill their prisoners at once, and 
he urged them to abandon further attempts at rescue. 
Fitch tells his own story in a petition for aid, preserved in 
Massachusetts Archives lxxiii, 609. He with his five 
children returned in safety the following year by way of 
New York and Providence, but his wife died in the latter 
place on, the way home, December 24, 1748. The follow- 
ing is one of Colonel Willard's orders " upon Hearing the 
Exstroydnery News of Mr Fitches Family Being Takeing 
from Lunenburge by the enemy." 

To Capt. Ephraim Wilder yitn. in Lancaster. 

You are herby Directed forthwith to order as many off your Troop to 
be Ready to march tomorrow morning as you can Posebel an I will Go 



INDIAN RAIDS. 



25 



with you for ther is two souldirs Killed att fitches fort and the man and his 
wife and five Children are Caryed Into Captivity as is sususpected att 
Lunenburge. Sam^l Willard Coll 

Lancaster July y^ 7. 1748. 

P. S. to go to Naregansitt No 2 and Paquoage and Neichewoage. you 
may Ride or go afoot as you Se good 



[Massachusetts Archives, xcii, 144.] 



Roll of Captain Ephraim 

Ephraim Wilder Capt Israel Whitcomb 

John Whitcomb Lieut Joseph Ru^'g 

Hezekiali Gates Cor tie t SlierebiaJi B a Hard 

Heztkiah Whitcomb Q Af Eleazar Whitcomb 

Joshua Moor Corporal. Joh/i Diipee 
Jabez Fairbank do. 



Sajiiuel Burpee do. 
Jonathan VI 'ilder 
Thomas Fairbank 
James House 
Thomas Sawyer 
Phinehas Sawyer 



Aaron Dresser 
Oliver Pollard 
William Sawyer 
John Farrer 
Ebenezer Buss 
Samuel Moor 
Shebiah Hunt 



Wilder. 

H illiani Richardson 
Abiathar Houghton 
Joseph Policy 
Jonas Whitcomb — 
Phinehas Willard 
Elijah Sawyer 
Poll Gates 
Abijah Houghton 
Hezekiah Gibbs 
Ephraim Osgood 
John Prentice 
Stephen Johnson — 



The names in italics are of Lancaster men. The others 
— excepting Houghton and Policy, who were of Leomin- 
ster — belonged to Bolton. The captain's brief journal 
accompanies his pay roll in Massachusetts Archives, 
XCII, 144 : 

A Journal of the march of Cap. Ephraim Wilder Juner and Company 

In July 1748. 
July 7. In Mustering his men they belonging to Several towns. 
July 8. In Marching to Narragansitt No. 2 and In Searching After 
the Indens that was the same day discovered there. 
July 9. In iMarching throw the woods to Paquage. 

In Scouting And Marching to Necthewoage 

In Scouting in the woods and Camped in the woods the 



July ID. 

July II. 

same night. 

July 12. 



In Scouting and In Returning to Lancaster — 

Ephraim Wilder Juner: 



More than three months before, the governor had been 
notified by the anxious commander of the Lancaster regi- 
ment, that the frontiersmen were in peril from Indian raids : 

3 



26 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

To his Exelency William Sheerly Esq. Capt. geiiej'al &^ Govertier in Cheif 
in afid over his majesties Province of the Massachusetts bay in New- 
englatid fir* to the Honr^ his majesties Councel (Sr^ house of Representa- 
tives in gejieral Court assembled. 

The memorial of Sam". Willard Humbly Sheweth, That vvheare as 
many of the Towns in my Ridgement ly on the frountiers & are vary much 
expos'^ to the enemy, and the soldiers alradie Propos'^ for those Towns are 
not by any means (as I conceiue) sufficient for the protection of the peo- 
ple, since there is not many more soldiers then Garisons in sd Towns & 
theirfore cant carie on a scout which I think would be absolutely nassary 
& theirfore your memorialist Humbly moues that their may be Town's 
scouts appointed in each frountier Town who shall be Changed alternately 
as often as is thought best; whose Duty it shall be to maintain a constant 
scout on the Back of these Towns which seruice hath allways ben much 
for ye Safty of frountiers when faithfully Perform'^ & this mathod may also 
saue the Presing of a Considerable many more soldiers, & your memorial- 
ist as in Duty Bound Shall ever Pray. Samll. Willard 

April 8 1748 

[Massachusetts Archives, Lxxiii, 129.] 

A few days after the raid he again wrote : 

To the Hon^^'^ Spe7icer Phipps Esq. Lieut. Gov^ and to the Hon^^^ his maj- 
ties Council. 

I think it my duty to lay before your Honours the Distrest Condition 
of the towns hereafter mention*^, lying between Merimack & Conecticut, 
by reason of the Indians. New Rutland, Nichwog, Naragansett No 2, 
Leominster, Lunenburgh, Groton West Precinct, who will not be able to 
do their Harvest & to get their hay without some Relief from your Hon- 
ours their being but sixty-two soldiers allowed & nineteen men for town 
Scouts to the towns aboue mention'', which is by no means sufficient to 
guard them. So I subscribe myself your humble Serv' 

Endorsed. Samll. Willard 

Reed July 15, 1748 

[Massachusetts Archives, Liu, 375.] 

The Jesuits of Canada conducted warfare against the 
hated heretics, their Puritan neighbors, in a mode the most 
cowardly and barbarous known in modern history. By 
various arts they had won to their interest all the more 
savage tribes. The French peasants had been encouraged 
to take Indian wives. The priests found it easy to awaken 
the superstitious fears of the susceptible red men, and 
abused this power without scruple. The savage's cupidity 



INDIAN RAIDS. 



27 



and love of tinery were stimulated by judicious distribution 
of gaudy presents, and the promise of bounties tor services. 
Bands of painted warriors were regularly equipped and 
sent to the English frontier settlements to murder, burn and 
plunder. These cunning, swift-footed marauders, skulking 
about some lone cabin, would surprise its owner at the 
plough or in the harvest field, tear oft' his scalp and drive 
before them through the pathless forests to Canada his wife 
and children, loaded with spoils trom their own home. In 
Montreal or Qiiebec the employers paid into the blood- 
stained hands the promised bounty and ransom money. 
To protect the adventurous pioneers of new settlements, it 
again became necessary, as during Lovewell's war, to keep 
parties of rangers almost constantly in motion ; hence such 
records as the following : 



A Muster Roll of a Number 
Command of yonathan 
uel IVillard. July 22, to 

Jonathan Whitney, capt : 
Thomas Ball, lieut : 
Ephrahn Gates, j^r^^*-: 
John Randall, serg^: 
Ebenezer Davis, dark 
Justinitian Holden, corpr. 
Gabriell Preist, corp'^ : 
Thomas Wheler, Jun. centii: 
William Farmer 
John Warner 
Ebenezer Worcester 
William Harper 
Sam". Harper 



of Men that was sent Into the Woods ii?ider 
Whitney Capt viz: By order of Coll. Sam- 
31- [1748] 



Hezekiah Willard 
Stephen Haskal 
John Davis 
Amos Stone 
Benj\ Sampson 
Abnah Holt 
Samuel Bruce 
John Sterns 
Benj\ Baley 
Benja. Marbel 
Abijah Pratt 
John Houghton 
Daniel Whitney 



Phineas Pratt 
Josiah Wetherby 
Elisha Gates 
Josiah Gates 
Josiah Davis 
Daniel Farr 
Joseph Wetherby 
William Skinner 
David Jewett 
Silas Wetherby 
Daniel Bruce 
Jonas Wilder 
Abraham Houghton 



[Massachusetts Archives, XCII, 125.] 



These men were of Bolton and Harvard ; a company of 
twenty was led from Lunenburg by Captain Jonathan Wil- 
lard, and a smaller scout trom Leominster was headed by 
Captain Jonathan White. 



28 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster July y^ 19. 1748. 
Captain White. 

Having repeated accounts of the indians Shooting and being tracked 
aboue you, You are hereby Directed to send six able bodied men to Scout 
constantly aboue Lunenburg and Leominster untill further orders 

Yours to serue Samll. Willard. 

A Muster Roll of a Scout of men in his Majesties Service under the Com- 
mand of Jonathan White Captain anno D 1748 [July 19 to August 12.] 

Jonathan White, capt. Oliver Carter Nathaniel Carter 

Joseph Beman Gershom Houghton Joshua Walker 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcil, 130.] 

A Muster Role of a N'umber of men that Scouted by order of Coll Willard 
under the Comfnand of Ser^t James Nought oti. [Served six weeks 
from July 24, 1748.] 
James Houghton, sergt. Hezekiah Whitcomb Nathan Burpee 
John Wilder John Hadley Jonathan Powers 

Asa Whitcomb Joseph Kilborn 

Endorsed. December the 31, 1748 

These may Certifie that Having advise from Capt. Stevens of No 4, 
that a party of Indians ware Come Betwene the Revers I sent out the 
within named James Houghton & Company. 

Samll Willard 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcii, 144. J 

About this time ''the Truck House above Northfield 
comonly called Fort Dumer," as its commandant writes of 
it in 1740, began to figure as a strategic position of some 
importance in connection with Charlestown No. 4, and 
Fort Massachusetts. Fort Dummer was in control of Col- 
onel Josiah Willard of Lunenburg and his kindred, who 
owned the site and the lands about it. The pay rolls of the 
little garrison usually contain less than a dozen names, all 
told, and these nearly always of Willards or of families 
connected with them by marriage. Fairbank Moore and 
John Sargent of Lancaster were generally on duty here. 
Captain Phineas Stevens, who, like the Willards, was of 
Lancaster origin, was commander of Number Four, and 
sometimes two or three Lancaster soldiers are found in his 
muster-rolls. Among prisoners ransomed and brought to 
Boston from Canada in 1748, was John Henderson of Lan- 



INDIAN RAIDS. 29 



caster, "taken at Number Four." July 16, 1748, near Fort 
Dummer, a party of thirteen was waylaid by Indians, and 
three only escaped. Joseph Richardson, Nathan French, 
John Frost and William Bradford were slain ; Henry Stev- 
ens, Benjamin Osgood, William Blanchard, Joel Johnson, 
Moses Perkins and Matthew Wyman were taken prisoners. 
The last named and two or three others were of Lancaster 
and adjoining towns. Wyman was soon ransomed, and 
the following petition is found : 

The Petition of Matthew Wyman most humbly sheweth, That your 
Petitioner being in his Majesties service and employ'^ as a souldier under 
Capt. Josiah Willard by your Excellency's Order was taken by the Indian 
Enemy near Fort Dummer on ye 16 of June 1648, who took & finally Kept 
from me a Gun worth no less than io£ old Ten'' and a Hat worth 5^ of ye 
same Ten"" and carried me to Canada. From which Captivity I obtained 
not my Liberty till about ye 5 of October following when I arrived in Bos- 
ton with Capt. Britt of Newbury & above 40 other Prisoners of War. 
Which unhappy Bondage hath tended more than a little to ye Distress & 
Impoverishment of myself and Family. It is therefore ye earnest suppli- 
cation of your Poor Petitioner that your Excellency and Honours will 
condescend to afford me some Relief such as in your Great Wisdom, 
Equity and Goodness you shall think proper, which will be a lasting obli- 
gation of Gratitude on your afflicted Petitioner who shall ever pray &c 

January 10, 1748/9 Matthew Wyman 

[Massachusetts Archives, Lxxiii, 321.] 

Eight pounds in money and a gun were voted the peti- 
tioner. A few years later he is found again fighting for 
the King. 



III. 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
1 754-1 763. 



I. THE CROWN POINT EXPEDITION OF 1755. 

THE treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed October 7, 1748, 
permitted for a time the semblance of peace between 
Jesuit and Puritan, but restored to the French all that had 
been wrested from them by the valor and sacrifices of the 
New England men. Again Louisbourg became a standing 
menace to the commerce of the Engrlish colonies in Amer- 
ica. Lancaster's veteran colonel, who had honored him- 
self and his birthplace by his conduct during the siege and 
capture of that famous fortress, now drops from our annals. 

We hear from Lancaster that on the 19* of this instant Novb"". Col. 
Samuel Wiliard was suddenly seized with an apoplectick fit, and died in 
three hours afterwards. He had attended the publick worship both fore- 
noon and afternoon on the preceding day. He was decently interred on 
the Wednesday following. He has left a sorrowful widow and six chil- 
dren. 

[Boston Weekly News Letter, Nov. 30, 1752.] 

Colonel Samuel was a grandson of Major Simon Wil- 
iard, and the energy and executive ability of his distin- 
guished ancestor shone again in him. Sixty-three years 
of age at his death, he was at the height of his prosperous 
and useful career. For twenty-five years he had been the 
ranking officer of the military district, and, with the excep- 
tion of Chief-Justice Joseph Wilder, the most prominent 
citizen of the town. He had held the office of judge of 



CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 3I 

the Court of Common Pleas for nearly ten years. Three 
of his sons following in paternal footsteps early showed 
marked taste for military life, and each attained the rank 
of colonel. 

In 1753 it was determined to encourage the manufacture 
of linen in Massachusetts by substantial premiums, and to 
obtain a fund for this purpose a tax was imposed upon cer- 
tain chattels deemed luxuries. The sum of ten shillings 
was annually levied upon each coach, five shillings upon a 
chariot, three shillings upon a chaise, and two shillings 
upon a calash or chair. The first year Lancaster paid tax 
upon three chairs ; in 1754, upon one chaise ; in 1755, upon 
two chairs and three chaises; in 1756, upon two chaises 
and two chairs. We can hardly err in assigning the chaises 
to Judge Joseph Wilder and the family of Colonel Samuel 
Willard. Bezaleel Sawyer was the proprietor of one of the 
chairs, but we are left to conjecture the ownership of the 
other. During the same years Harvard, Bolton and Leom- 
inster had but a single chair to the three towns. From the 
paucity of such conveniences for travel, we may judge of 
the austere simplicity of the times. 

In attempting to carry out the provisions of the excise 
act of 1754, l^yi^g ^ tax upon certain table luxuries, by 
means of which the colonists were expected to contribute 
to the support of the government, unforeseen difficulties 
were met in this county, as told by the return of a com- 
mittee, the two leading members of which were Lancaster 
citizens : 

To his Excelency William Shirley Esq., Capt. General \ 

October y^ 18, 1754. 
Whareas your Excelency & Honours appointed us the subscribers a 
Conimitte to farm out the excise of Tea, Coffe & Chine ware In the Coun- 
tey of Worcester, This therefore Certifies that In pursuance of said order 
we Notified the whole Countey of our Desighn to meet at a publick Time 
and place when & where we attended, but when the acte Relating to that 
affair was Read, No person by Reson of some Clauses In said acte appered 



32 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

to bid for said excise, for wliicli Reson, Notwithstanding our Time Trouble 
and Expences it Is Not farmed out 

The Expences. To writing 23 Notifications & sending them to [so] 
many Towns o .. 9 .. o 

To attendance on said affair, one Day & a 

hafe a person i .. 7 .. o 

To Expences o .. 6 .. o 

Which we pray may be allowed 

We are your Excellency & Honors most Humble Servants, 
Joseph Wilder "^ 

William Richardson > Committe 
Nathan Tyler ) 

[Massachusetts Archives, CXix, 685.] 

The people who thus voluntarily denied themselves 
common luxuries, and jealously scrutinized every attempt 
to raise the smallest subsidy without their consent, were 
soon willingly impoverishing themselves and mortgaging 
their children's inheritance, for love of country and the 
reliirion of their fathers. 

Preparations for a desperate and decisive struggle never 
ceased, and from time to time collisions upon the frontiers 
told of the unabated rage between the rival civilizations 
and creeds. In 1754 the mask of peace was dropped in 
the colonies, although the mother countries did not formally 
declare war until two years later. Colonel John Winslow 
was stationed upon the eastern frontier with a regitnent, 
and with him, chiefl^MU the cmpanies of Captains Phineas 
Osgood and Eleazar Melvin, serving from April to Novem- 
ber, were these men of Lancaster, Bolton and Harvard : 

Sergt. John Whitcomb. Timothy Houghton. Abraham Knowlton. 

Sergt. Steplien Houghton. Benjamin Hulchins. William Larkin. 

Nathan Barns. Gordon Hutciiins. Josiah Priest. 

Charles Holman. Benjamin Kendall. Jacob VVillard. 

Richard Holden. Isaac Kendall. Elijah Wood. 



[MassachuseUs Archives, XCIII, 136-S.] 



Joseph Wood. 



Captain Gershom Flagg was engaged in the construc- 
tion of Fort Halifax on the Kennebec, from July to Novem- 
ber of this year, and with him were Henry Haskell, Uriah 



CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 33 

Tucker, and perhaps other carpenters of Lancaster. The 
town was also represented upon the western frontier during 
the same season. 

Lancaster Sept. the ii"\ 1754. 
Coll" Israel Willimns Sr. I haue Received a Copey of your Letter 
from Collo. John Chandler which Gaue me a Count that you had order 
from his Excellency the Capt. General's Warrant to Rayse such forces out 
of the seueral Regiments within the Counties of Hamshire and Worcester 
for the Defence of his majestys subjects in the Western parts of the Prov- 
ince and also I haue received from Collo John Chandler the Proportson of 
men which is fourteen and accordingly I haue corsed that number to be 
impressed and ordered them to yourself for further order. So I Reman 
your Hum. Servent Oliver Wilder 

and haue put Mr John May Ensign ouer the Detachment of fourteen 
Raysed In our County Expecting Collo Chandler will put an offiser ouer 
him. 

Ensign John May W'". Pollard Mathias Larkin 

Elijah Holton, j^/. James Houghton Elias Haskell 

Ephm. Sawyer David Atherton Solomon Stone 

Dan^ Bruce Jona Kendall Mathew Knight 

Nahum Houghton Jos: Beeman Joseph Dexter in 

Ephm. Sawyer's place to be muster'' from y*^ day of Sawyer's Enlistment. 

fCol. Israel Williams' Papers, 79. J 

The French, alert and aggressive, not onl}- claimed by 
right of discovery the Mississippi and its tributaries to their 
sources in the Alleghanies, but had gone far to make their 
claim good by encircling the English colonies with a cor- 
don of block-houses and forts from the St. Lawrence to the 
Ohio. Against this French line of occupation in 1755 fo^'* 
great expeditions were planned, and four Colonial and 
British armies were sent out, aiming at widely separated 
points : Fort Duquesne at the head of the Ohio River, Fort 
Niagara on Lake Ontario, Crown Point on Lake Cham- 
plain, and the Acadian Forts at the head of the Bay of 
Fundy. The lirst expedition met with ignominious disas- 
ter, the second and third missed their aim, and the fourth 
won inglorious victory. With the last two, only, is Lan- 
caster history intimately connected. 



34 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Enlistment Roll found among papers of Colonel Oliver Wilder. 
We the Subscribers Do acknowledge to Haue Volentareley Inlisted our 
Selues as Priuate Solders to Serue his majestey King George the Seccond 
In a Regiment of foot Now a Raising In the Prouince of the Massachusets 
Bay In New England oute of the Seueral Regiments of horse and oute of 
the Regiment in partickular whareof Olivar Wilder Esq"". Is Collonal to 
Reinforce the armey under the Command of Major General Johnson Des- 
tined for Crown Point and under such Collonal as his Honour the Left. 
Gouener Phips shall se good to apoint as witness our hands this fifteenth 
Day of September in the year of ouer-Lord 1755. 

Luke Jarvis accepted in ye Rome of Stephen Tuttle 
Benjamin Wilder [lieHtenajif] Oliver Pollard 
Phineiias Carter \_ensign'] Fairbank Moor 

Jonathan Powers Seth Oak 

Paul Sawyer Benja Bridge 

Nathan!-. Houghton Moses Whitney 

Nathaniel White Simon Blancher, impressed 

Nathaniel Hudson Phinehas Willard 

Jonathan Houghton Caleb Sawyer 

Israel Greenleaf Zadock Davis, trompt 

John Moor, Jr. William Houghton 

Oliver Warner Gordon Hutchins 

Samuell Cummings, Juner. Jeremiah Laughton, corp. 

Simon Willard Daniel Houghton 

Joseph Wheelock Nathaniel Cobleigh 

Jonas Whitcomb, trompt Oliver Tenney 

T, l^'^TT Robert Whitcomb 

Ephraim X Houghton 

mark BeNJAMIN HALE, COrp. 

These soldiers from Lancaster and neighborinsf towns 
served in the regiment of Colonel Josiah Brown, and in 
the companies of Captain Jeduthan Baldwin of Brookfield, 
and Lieutenant-Colonel John Cummings, whose muster- 
rolls are in Massachusetts Archives, xciii, 206 and 215, 
and xciv, 8, 27 and 71. 

Samuel Willard, eldest son of the late colonel, was au- 
thorized to raise a regiment of eight hundred men for this 
expedition, and John Whitcomb of Bolton was commis- 
sioned its lieutenant-colonel, Timothy Houghton of Bolton, 
adjutant, and Phineas Phelps of Lancaster, surgeon's-mate. 
Colonel Willard was mustered in command of the regiment 
from August 9 to October 26, at which date John Whit- 



CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 35 

comb was commissioned colonel. Samuel Willard had 
been taken sick shortly after joining the army, and died at 
Lake George. He was not quite thirty-seven years of age. 
For a time he had lived at Petersham, having an estate 
there, was justice of the peace, and highly esteemed for 
his uprightness and ability. He had returned to his boy- 
hood's home, however, before the war broke out, and was 
chosen town clerk of Lancaster. The election of his suc- 
cessor to the clerkship for 1755, is recorded as "in room of 
Samuel Willard absent in his majesty's service." He left 
no children. Colonel John Whitcomb's company of fifty 
men had in it the following soldiers from Lancastrian towns, 
the remainder being mostly from Stow and Marlborough : 

OF LANCASTER : 

Hezekiah Whitcomb, lieutenant , (died). Aaron Dresser, Thomas Dole, 
John Whitcomb, ('rt'/^c/j. Abner Osgood. 

OF BOLTON : 

Gabriel Priest, sergeant. Abram Holman, James Townsend, 

Nathaniel Longley, clerk. Francis McFadden, Eleazar Whitcomb, 

John Whitcomb, Jun, druininer. Josiah Priest. 

OF HARVARD : 

Uriah Holt, corporal. Joseph' Houghton, John Sawyer, 

Isaac Gates, Elkanah Keyes. 

OF LEOMINSTER : 

Job SpofFord, corporal. Jonas Spofford, Benjamin Street, (died). 

Elias Carter. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCIV, 52.] 

In the company of Captain Samuel Hunt of Lunen- 
burg, there were : 

OF BOLTON : 
Silvanus Sawyer, driirmner, Francis Fullain. 

OF LEOMINSTER : 

John White, sergeant, William Boutell, corporal, Luke Richardson, 
Benjamin Whitcomb. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCIV, 63.] 

In the company of Captain Stephen Hosmer of Con- 
cord, were : 

OF LANCASTER : 

William Richardson, Jr. lieutenant, Samuel Warner. 



36 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



In the company of Captain William Peirce of Stow, 
were : 

OF HARVARD : 

Judah Clark, lieutenant, Isaac Stone, corporal, Phineas Pratt, 

Benjamin Hutchins, sergeant, Samuel Corey. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xciv, 76.] 

Josiah Whitney and Samuel Meed of Harvard were in 
other companies of the same regiment. 

Most of the soldiers of this neighborhood, however, 
were in three companies of a regiment commanded by 
Colonel Timothy Ruggles, which suffered severely in the 
battle of Lake George, September 8. 1755, when the gal- 
lant Dieskau was defeated by the undisciplined valor of 
New England rustics under the energetic leadership of 
General Phineas Lyman, despite the woful mismanage- 
ment of the commander-in-chief. The muster-roll of Cap- 
tain Joseph Whitcomb's company is in Massachusetts 
Archives, xciv, S6. The time of service was from March, 
1755, to the close of the year : 



Joseph Whitcomb, capt. Lancaster 
Benj". Whitcomb, lieiet. Leominster 
Benj'', Hastings, ensign, Bolton 
Hezekiah Walker, clerk, Lancaster 
Dennis Locklin, sergt. Bolton 
John Barnard " " 

Samuel Patch " Stow 



Ebenezer Snow, Lancaster 

Robert Forskit 

John Wheeler 

Joseph Robbins 

Jon". Houghton 

Cyrus Gates 

Marmaduke Jos. Hamilton, 



Jonas Johnson,c^;'/.Leom'ster, (^/V^/)Abram Knolton 



Benj''. Marble " 
James Cresfield " 
Joseph Robbins, Jr. 
Joshua Sawyer 
Josiah Pratt, Jr. 
Robert Longley 
John Richardson 
Nathaniel Holman 
Abijah Cole 



Bolton Josiah Pratt. Sen"". 

Lancaster Abraham Bruce 
" {died) Joseph Evelith, Stow 
" Ebenezer Patch, " {died) 

" {died) Henry Keyes, Shrewsbury 
" Robert Fletcher, clerk, Lancaster 

" Joseph Polley, Leominster 

" Ebenezer Knight " 

" James Clark " 

Joseph Shewally, Leominster, {died) William Porter, Shirley 
Ethan Phillips, Lancaster Peter Kendall, Lancaster, {died) 

Zecariah Eager, Shrewsbury John Davidson, Stow 

William Willard, Lancaster Micah Gates " 

Phineas Randell " {died) Silas Bouker, Shrewsbury 



CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 



37 



Peter Houghton, Leominster Joseph Rigelow, Framingham 

John Scott, Lunenburg Comfort Brabrook,Shrewsbury(c//Vd?) 

Jona. Priest Whitcomb, dniiiimer, Lancaster 

The muster-roll of Captain Asa Whitcomb is in Massa- 
chusetts Archives, xcv, 88 : 



Asa Whitcomb, capt. Lancaster 
Ezra Houghton, licnt. " 

Eh'jah Houghton, ensign, " 
Joshua Hide, sergt. Petersham 
Reuben Keyes " Shrev/sbury (rt'/V^/) 
Eph'm Bennett " Holden, {died) 
Philemon Houghton, clerk, Lancaster 
Jacob Hinds, corp. Shrewsbury 
Isaac Kendall " Lancaster, {died) 
Ebenezer Engalsbee, corfi. Shrewsbury 
Sam'I Fairbanks, (j^r/. Lancaster, {died) 
Wm. Fairbanks, drumV, " {died) 
John Farrar " {died) 

John Brooks " 

Benjamin Flood, Westborough 
Daniel Stone, Shrewsbury 
Jedediah Belknap " {died) 
Francis Temple " 



Ithamar Bennett, Lancaster, ((^//></) 
Fortunatus Taylor, Shrewsbury 
Thomas Fairbanks, Lancaster 
Silas Bennett, Petersham 
Joseph Woolly, Rutland 
Oliver Dresser, Lancaster 
Caleb Wright, Harvard 
Nathan Garey, Lancaster 
John Harvey. Shrewsbury 
David Allen, Petersham 
Joshua Bailey, Lancaster 
Tilley Littlejohn " 
Eliphalet Cutting, Shrewsbury 
Oliver Osgood, Lancaster, {died) 
Charles Holman, Bolton, {died) 
Jonathan Goodale, Marlborough 
Nahum Houghton, drumvier, Lan- 
caster. 



The muster-roll of Captain Benjamin Ballard is in Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, xciv, 123, and contains forty-nine 
names, eleven being of Lancaster, three of Leominster, 
and one of Harvard ; the lieutenants and many of the pri- 
vates being from Tovvnsend and vicinit}^ 



Benjamin Ballard, captain, 
Sherebiah Hunt, sergeant, 
Timothy Whiting, clerk, 
Samuel Ballard, 



OF LANCASTER : 

William Barron, 
Josiah Fairbanks, 
William Kendall, 
John Manning, 
OF LEOMINSTER : 

Abiathar Houghton, sergeant, Jon*. White, Jr. 

William Babcock ot Harvard. 

These three companies were in the bloody "morning 
fight," and those recorded as "died" were, with the excep- 
tion of Farrar, killed or mortally wounded on that day. 
Petitions presented by certain of the survivors will serve to 



Eiisha White, 
Elijah Woods, 
Joseph Woods, 
John Rugg {killed). 

Aaron Brown. 



38 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

picture some of the trials endured by these patriots after 
the dangers of the battle-field were safely passed, while 
they suggest comparisons and contrasts with our modern 
experiences of war : 

Jonathan Powers ***** Inlisted himself a privet under the 
Command of Capt. Jeduthan Ballding In Collonal Brown's Regiment to go 
in the Expedition against Crown point the Last year, and so it was * * * 
I was Taken sick at Lake George and so Continued for thre wekes and 
after Recovering some small strength [ was Imbarked In a wagon and got 
Down to Albany with much Deficultey and thare Taried thre Days and 
then I being Verry Disirous of Citing horn attemted a tryel and Traveled 
as my strength would bare untill I Got to Kingston and sent Home for 
Horse and man to Come to my assistance, I being unable to proced any 
further I had got so weke. 
To what it cost me for said man & two Horses thre Days & 

Expences £i - o - o 

and after I got Home I was Confined to my house with fevour 
& flucks for thre wekes and was obliged to aply to Dr 
Harvey whose Bill Is herwith exhibited and Is 1-7-6 

and for Nursing and other Nesecareys During said thre wekes 10-8 

2-18-2 
Your Pettioner Humbly Prays your Honour & Honours to Repay him 
the apove said sum. * * * * Jonathan Powers 

[Massachusetis Archives, Lxxv, 691.] 

To His Honour Spencer Phips Esq July ye i 1756. 

The Pettion of Aaron Dresser Humbley Shewing that he Inlisted 
himself a privet solder In Collonel Whitcomb's Companey In Collonel 
Willard's Regiment the last year In the Expedition against Crown point 
and so it was may it plese your Honouer and Honouers that I was Taken 
sick at the Camp and was unable to Travil and Brought Down to Albaney 
In a wagon and Remaind sick at Albaney thre wekes & thre Da3's and 
then was unable to travil on foot and was forst to Hire a man and Horse to 
Carrey me homward. 
To what it Cost me at Canterhook while sick there for Nurising 

and Nesecarys I was obliged to get i^- 5^-1 ii^ 

To what it Cost me for man and Horse and expenses Home to 

Lancaster which ye man was 15 Days a performing I being 

so weke 3 - 18-6 

Your Pettioner Humbley prays your Honouer and Honouers to Repay 

him the above said sum of five pounds four shillings and five pence which 

Cost and Charge he has actuley ben at as In Dutey bound shall Ever Pray. 

Aaron Dresser 

[Massachusetts Archives, LXXV, 686.] 



CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 39 

To the hon^le his Majesties Coutisell 6-= hojtse of Representatives in Generel 
Court Assembled. April y^' first 1757. 

The Pettition ot William Willard humbleley shewing That he was an 
Inlisted soildier under the Command of Capt. Joseph Whetcomb in the 
Reigement wherof Timothy Rugles Esq : was Con": in the Crown Point 
Expedition in the year one Thousand Seaven hunderd and fivety-five, and 
so it was, may Please your Honours, That your poor Pettitioner was taken 
Sick att Lake George & I was obliged for to hire a horse, and make the 
Best of way home with the Leave of my Superor officers leave and was 
Obliged for to Lay by four days on my Jorney home 1 being so very sick 
and week, & the fourteenth Day with great Difficultey I arrived att my 
home att Lancaster, & there was Confined to my Room & bed for five 
weeks with the feaver and Camp Destemper and my bodey and Leggs 
being SwelH for fonr or five months afterwards which Cost me in money 
besides all other Nessesery Charges, as to Candles & boarding nurses &c. 
which sum of one pound twelve Shillings, your poor pettistioner would 
humbleley pray your honours to Repay him. As in Duttey bound Shall 
ever pray. William Willard. 

Worcester Ss, Lancaster April y^ 11. 1757. The before Named 
William Willard apered and made oth the Truth of the foregoing Petf^" 
before me W" Richardson Jnstiee Pacis. 

Subscribed, — 

The Com"'^'' allow one pound twelve shillings In full. Sam"- Witt 

pr order 

Similar petitions to those above given were presented 
by Ethan Phillips, Daniel Houghton, William Kendall, 
James Johnson and others of the same companies. Two 
from Lancaster widows are as follows : 

To His Honour Spencer Phips Esq: * * * * 

The Pettition of Mary Farrar administratrix to Hur Late Husband 
John Farrar Late of Lancaster Decesed Humbley Shewing that Hur Said 
Husband Inlisted under the Comand of Capt. Asa Whitcomb In Coll" 
Rugeles Regiment In the Crown Point Expedition In ye year 1755 and 
that he was well During the sumers Campain untill a few Days before his 
Dismision at the Camp but was then Taken out of order and with Grate 
Dificultey got home and was Verey poorley for some wekes after he got 
home but Notwithstanding the grate Dificulteys he met with the year be- 
fore, your Poor Pettition^ Husbands zele was so grate for ye good of his 
Cuntrey that when thare was a motion to goe a seccond time In ye servis 
of his King & Cuntrey he freley Entred Into said servis the Last year and 
Continued In it till he was Dismissed and was Taken Sick In his [return] 
at Shefield and thare Died: and so it was may it plese your Honour and 
Honours that my said Husband's Entering Into the servis ye Last year he 



40 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

had not an opurtunity to get his Billiting money for his Returning Back ye 
year before & I often herd my said Husband saye he bore all his own ex- 
pences In his Return from ye said Expedition In ye yeare 1755, as also ye 
afe Davit of two others herwith Exhibited, and that your pettioner was at 
the Cost & Charge of sending man & horse twice whilst my said Husband 
Lay sick at Shefield which cost me thirty-six shillings for expences besides 
the two men & their horses who was one of them gone a fortnight & the 
other a weke which I aprehend to be well worth thirtey shillings. Your 
poor Distresed pettitioner therefore Humbley Prayes your Honour & 
Hon''^ to take Hur case Into your wise and Just Consideration & Give hur 
a Power to Draw ye Billiting for hur husbands' Return from ye Expedition 
In ye year 1755 & to allow the thirtey shillings for y*^ two men & two Horses 
that went to hur said Husbands asistance or Grant Hur Relief In shuch 
other way as your Honour & Honours In your Grate wisdom shall Direct, 
as In Duty Bound shall Every pray Mary Farrar 

Worsester: Ss : Lancaster March ye 6"' 1757 

Mary Farrar appered and made oth to ye truth of ye facts set forth 
In y« forgoing pettition before me- 

William Richardson Justice Peace. 

Endorsed — Your Honour & Honours within mentioned pettitioner 
further Humbley prayes you will alow Hur y*^ accounts also Here with Ex- 
hibeted paved Dr Harvey for Doctering hur Husband which Is ten shil- 
lings & five pence as in further Dutey shall Ever pray. 

Mary Farrar. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LXXVI, 366.] 

To His Honour the I.ei/t. Governojir and Comander in Chief for the time 
being. To the Honourable His Majesties Council and House of 
Representatives in General Court Ascenibled Jany. 6^^' 1757- 
The Petition of Hannah Woods Humbly Prays that shee had two sons 
Listed under Capt. Ballard in Coll : Rugglesses Regement in the fi'-st Expe- 
dition Against Crown Point, Vizt : Joseph and Elijah. Elijah Attended 
His Duty in the Province Service till the 26"^ Day of Oetober 1755 at 
which time he had a furlow being unfit for Service and Remained 111 twenty 
weeks unable to Do aney Business all of which time I Nussed & Billited s^ 
Elijah : that Joseph Continued in the Service till he was Dismissed from 
the Expedition and Returned Home so 111 that He was not Capable of 
Doing aney thing for ten weeks after his Return at which time I Billited 
and Loked after Him. therefore the said Hannah Humbley Prays that she 
may be allowed for Nussing Billiting and for what shee paid for Doctring 
Hir two Sons an Account of which accompaneys this Petition and as in 
Duty bound shall Ever Pray * * * * Hannah Woods 

[Massachusetts Arcliives, xcv, 188.] 

Though barren of far reaching victory, and foiled of 



LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 41 

its real purpose, the first Crown Point Expedition gave 
needful experience and confidence in themselves and their 
own officers to the soldiers of New England ; while Brad- 
dock's defeat could not but suggest to them comparisons 
that made them thereafter more impatient than ever before 
of the arrogant claims of superiority constantly obtruded 
upon them by the British regulars. 



II. LANCASTER IN ACADIA AND THE ACADIANS IN 
LANCASTER. 

It is one hundred and thirty years 

" . . . . Since the burning of Grand-Pre, 
When on the falling tide the freighted vessels departed, 
Bearing a nation, with all its household gods, into exile ; 
Exile without an end, and without an example in story." 

Of the numerous Lancaster readers of Evangeline few 
now suspect how nearly the sad tale of ravaged Acadia 
touched our town history. Upon the crown officials then 
in authority over the Province of Nova Scotia, historian 
and poet have indelibly branded the stigma of a mer- 
ciless edict of expulsion, which devastated one of the 
fairest regions of Ainerica, and tore seven thousand simple 
peasants from a scene of rural felicity rarely surpassed, to 
scatter them in the misery of abject poverty among stran- 
gers speaking a strange tongue and hating their religion. 
Discussion of the question of military necessity would be 
out of place here. The agents who faithfully executed 
the decree were chiefly Massachusetts men reluctantly 
obedient to "his Majesty's orders," given them specifically 
in writing by Charles Lawrence, lieutenant-governor of 
Nova Scotia. 

On the twentieth of May, 1755, Lieutenant-Colonel 
John Winslow embarked at Boston with a force of about 
two thousand men, organized in two battalions. They 



42 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



were enlisted for the term of one year, unless sooner dis- 
charged, for the special service of dislodging the French 
from their newly fortified positions along the north side of 
the Bay of Fundy and upon the isthmus connecting New 
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Among the vessels of the 
fleet was a sloop called the Victory, and to this was 
assigned a company belonging to the second battalion, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Scott's, which was largely composed 
of, and officered by, Lancaster men. A descriptive roster 
of this company, compiled from the Captain's Orderly Book 
and the Journal of Colonel John Winslow, follows : 

Age ■ Occupation 



Abijah Willard, captain 


[31] 




Lancaster 


Lancaster 


Joshua Willard, lieutenant 




" 




Moses Haskell " 






<( 




Caleb Willard, ensign 






Lunenburg 




Thomas Beman, sergeant 


'25 


husbandman 


Lancaster 




James Houghton " 


25 


" 


" 




Edmund Brigham " 


30 


" 


Marlboro' 




Nathan Stone " 


21 


'♦ 


Petersham 


Framingham 


Jacob Willard, corporal 


21 


" 


Lancaster 




Aaron Taylor " 


25 


" 


Lunenburg 


Littleton 


Thomas Willard " 


23 


" 


Lancaster 




Nathaniel Foster " 


25 


" 


Chelmsford 




Joel Phelps dnatzmer 


21 


" 


Lancaster 




Joseph Farnsworth " 


20 


" 


" 




Luke Aldridge 


20 


laborer 


Deerfield 




Aaron Allen 


30 


" 


Petersham 




Benjamin Atherton 


20 


•' 


Harvard 




David Atherton 


21 


" 


Lancaster 




Phineas Atherton 


16 


" 


" 




Timothy Baker 


24 


tailor 


Petersham 


Littleton 


Joseph Bayley 


30 


laborer 


Lancaster 




Jonathan Brown 


17 




" 


Stow 


Roger Bruce 


21 




Marlboro' 




Michael Bryant 


21 




Shrewsbury 




John Bunn or Bur 


20 




Petersham 




William Burt or Burk 


28 




Groton 




Joseph Chandler 


21 




Petersham 




William Chesnutt 


22 




Shrewsbury 


Boston 


Josiah Chamberlain 


25 




Groton 





LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 



43 





Age 


Occupation 


Residence 


Birthplace 


Henry Coffin 


17 


joyner 


Lunenburg 




Joseph Collin 


24 


tanner 


Worcester 




Jonathan Creasy 


25 


laborer 


Harvard 


Groton 


Samuel Davis 


20 


" 


Lunenburg 




Isaac Day 


17 


cooper 


Harvard 


Maiden 


Peter Day 


24 


laborer 


Springfield 


London 


Phineas Divol 


20 


'• 


Lancaster 




Abel Farns worth 


22 


husbandman 


" 




John Farnsworth 


30 


laborer 


Harvard 


Lancaster 


Jeremiah Field 


18 


" 


Lancaster 


Boston 


John Fitch 


21 


" 


Lunenburg 




David Fling 


30 


tailor 


Marlboro' 


Ireland 


Joseph Foster 


22 


cordwainer 


Lunenburg 




Samuel Foster 


25 


laborer 


Chelmsford 




Samuel Gates 


26 




Marlboro' 




Levi Goodenough 


19 




" 




Luxford Gooding 


24 




Westboro' 




Peter Gore 


21 




Petersham 


Watertown 


Ephraim Goss 


22 




Lancaster 




Nehemiah Gould 


21 




Groton 




Daniel Harper 


21 




Harvard 




Elias Haskell 


19 


cooper 


" 




Thomas Henderson 


40 


laborer 


Lancaster 


Ireland 


Nehemiah How 


21 


" 


Groton 




Samuel How 


19 


" 


Marlboro' 




Andrew Hutchins 


25 


husbandman 


Chelmsford 




Eliakim Hutchins 


22 


laborer 


" 




Enos Hutson 


20 


" 


Petersham 


Westboro' 


William Hutson 


22 


cordwainer 


Lancaster 




John Johnson 


22 


laborer 


" 




Samuel Kilham 


20 


" 


Marlboro' 




Matthias Larkin 


30 


" 


Lancaster 




James Leach 


21 


" 


Lunenburg 




David McClelhan 


18 


joyner 


Worcester 




Samuel Martin 


18 


cooper 


Groton 


Lunenburg 


Artemas Maynard 


20 


laborer 


Shrewsbury 




Joseph Metcalf 


21 


cooper 


Harvard 




Daniel Moody 


25 


laborer 


Marlboro' 




Uriah Morse 


24 




Worcester 




Samuel Neagus 


22 




Petersham 


Westboro' 


Jabez Norcross 


20 




Lunenburg 




Joseph Patterson 


25 




Groton 




Ebenezer Phillips 


30 




Grafton 





44 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 





Age 


Occupation 


Residence 


Birthplace 


Joseph Pratt 


30 


laborer 


Lancaster 




Joseph Priest 


45 


" 


" 




Nathan Rugg 


20 


" 


Marlboro' 


Lancaster 


John Russell 


35 


weaver 


Shirley 


Ireland 


David Saunders 


19 


laborer 


Lancaster 


Groton 


John Simon 


23 


" 


Lunenburg 




Andrew Spear 


21 


" 


X 


Ireland 


Robert Spear 


45 


" 


" 




Jacob Stiles 


19 


housewright 


Lancaster 


Lunenburg 


David Stone 


18 


laborer 


Petersham 


Framingham 


Hezekiah Stowell 


21 


" 


Worcester 


Watertown 


Isaac Sullendine 


21 


«' 


Lancaster 




Zechariah Tarbel 


22 


t< 


Lunenburg 


Groton 


John Taylor 


25 


" 


" 


Littleton 


John Turner 


22 


" 


Petersham 


Lunenburg 


Joseph Turner 


20 


«' 


" 


Lunenburg 


Lemuel Turner 


18 


" 


Lancaster 


Groton 


Nathaniel Turner 


18 


" 


" 


Groton 


William Turner 


18 


" 


•' 


Lancaster 


John Warner 


20 


husbandman 


" 




William Warner 


20 


" 


Leominster 


Lancaster 


Eliphalet Warren 


20 


laborer 


Westboro' 




Barnard Wilde 








" 




Aaron Wilder 


20 






Lancaster 




James Willard 


18 






" 




Silas Willard 


19 






Harvard 




David Wilson 


18 






Petersham 




John Wilson 


20 






Lancaster 




Jonathan Witherby 


20 






Lunenburg 




Levi Woods 


20 






Lancaster 




Matthew Wyman 


40 






" 


Woburn 


Uriah Wyman 


21 


apothecary 


" 


Woburn 


Robert Zewers 


30 


labc 


)rer 


Worcester 


Concord 



David Atherton died the second day of May, on board 
the sloop, in Boston Harbor ; Sergeant James Houghton 
died October 21, at Fort Cumberland; William Hudson 
was killed in the assault made by the enraged Acadians 
upon Major Frye's detachment, when burning the " mass 
house" at Peticodiac. Besides the natives of Lancastrian 
towns above named, these appear in other companies : 



LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 45 



Age 


Occupation 


Residence 


Birthplace 


Company 


John Buttrick 39 yeoman 


Leominster 


Stow 


Capt. Jones's 


Jesse Howe 




" 




Col. Shirley's 


Nath'. Johnson 25 




" 


Lancaster 


Capt. Jones's 


Jonas Moore 32 




Bolton 




i< 


John Rugg 31 




South Hadley 


Lancaster 


Capt. Stevens's 


William Warner 18 




Leominster 


" 


" 


David Wilde 21 


blacksmith 


Nutfield 


" 


Capt. Gilbert's 



The Orderly Book of Captain Abijah Willard, in pos- 
session of Dr. Robert Willard of Boston, contains a journal 
kept from April 9, 1755, on which day he marched from 
Lancaster with his company, until January 6, 1755, when 
it abruptly closes. From this brief record of daily events 
we ascertain that the Lancaster company actively partici- 
pated in the capture of Fort Beau Sejour, and Willard 
records that in repelling an attack of the French and 
Indians upon the camps : 

We Killed the Chief Indian a Sagamore from the Island of Saint Johns 
which are known by the name Mickmack, he Liued aboute 5 hours after he 
was Shott and behaued as bold as any man Could Do till he Died but 
wanted Rum and Sider which we gaue him till he Died, he was shott throug 
the Bodey just below his Ribs, he was supposed to be 6 feet and two inches 
and very Large bon'd but very poor. 

The captain, with his friends Captain Phineas Stevens 
and Chaplain Phillips, took an early opportunity to visit 
two or three of the Acadian villages, and his picture of 
Evangeline at home adds no graces to the poetic ideal of 
modern artists ; he writes : 

I saw a Grate many french women and Garls, their Faces Loock well 
bnt their feet Loock verey strange with wooden shoes they all wore. 

The battalion was drawn up to hear prayers at six 
o'clock every morning, and Chaplain Phillips regularly 
upon Sunday, "held forth both forenoon and afternoon." 
Chapter and verse of his texts are faithfully recorded. 
One day the men were deprived of their usual ration of 
strong drink, and Winslow's battalion "was in an uproar 
and cried No Rum till Late in the Evening." Some of 



46 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

these too thirsty soldiers condoned their offence the next day 
by a two hours' ride upon the wooden horse. There ap- 
pear throughout the journal frequent intimations of a hearty 
dislike between the Massachusetts soldiers and the regu- 
lars. Governor Shirley, in a letter, mentions hearing "that 
so good an harmony as could be wished did not subsist 
between the officers of the New England Regiments and 
those of his Majesty's Regular Troops." Captain Willard 
evidently thought that by far the largest share of hard and 
disagreeable fatigue and picket duty was allotted to the 
Massachusetts men ; and once breaks out petulantly with 
the complaint that his company were "made cattle on for 
to Draw barils." Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton, 
the King's officer at the head of the expedition, appears in 
Willard's pages in very unfavorable light, as a cold-blooded 
martinet, caring little for the comfort of his soldiers. With 
plenty of cattle roaming wild on the meadows about them, 
the soldiers were forbidden fresh meat. Several were 
arrested for going out to gather some green peas, a great 
abundance of which were growing on the marsh, and the 
journal adds : 

Their was a grate uprore in the Camp concerning the peese, for it was 
thought that Coll. Munckton had much Rather the Cattle should Eate the 
peese, than the soulders that Came from New England or his one troops, 
which by Credible Information of oure officers. I thought it very hard. 

Our captain seems, however, to have won the good 
graces of Monckton, for on August 5 he received the com- 
mand of a party of two hundred and tifty men, and was 
sent with sealed orders to the head of Minas Bay. A party 
of regulars under a captain-lieutenant was to join the expe- 
dition at some point in advance, and Captain Willard, 
knowing that by custom this regular officer, though of 
inferior rank to himself, would then assume the command 
over him, refused to accept the position and submit to such 
indignity. He therefore received written instructions to 
support his authority, which seeing, the British officer "was 



LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 47 

sumthing Blank to think a New England Capt. should 
Take Command of a Capt. Lt. of the Regulars, and Eme- 
diatly he said he was much Fatigue with his Traveling so 
much and Desired to have the Liberty of Coming on to 
Cobequid ;" Willard declined to relieve him. 

The impudent claim of the Englishmen that the royal 
commission entitled them to precedence above every Pro- 
vincial of the same grade, whatever his term of service in 
that rank, was so constant a source of bitterness and strife, 
that Pitt was compelled, in the interest of the public service, 
to promise redress of the wrong before the organization of 
Abercrombie's army could be effected in 1758. Captain 
Willard's march along the shore of Minas Bay came near 
ending in a tragedy, which w^ould have carried mourning 
into many a home in Lancaster. He had been traversing 
the beach, the banks of which were precipitous and nearly 
one hundred feet in height, when the increased roaring of 
the tide attracted attention, and a Frenchman warned them 
that their lives depended upon swift retreat. The journal 
continues : 

I ordered the party to Return back as fast as they Could ; the men 
being frighted Traveled as fast as possible. We was obliege to Travel! 2 
miles before we could escape the tide and before we Got to the upland 
where we could Gett up the Banks was obliege to waid in the Rear up to 
their midles and Just escape being washed away and when come to this 
case sum of the men very much fatigued and att this plase by the best ob- 
servation the tides rise 80 foot. 

When the expedition reached Tatmagouche, Captain 
Willard, according to instructions, opened his secret orders, 
and he records them as — "suprising to me for my orders was 
to burn all the houses that I found on the Road to the Bay 
of Verts." The captain made suitable disposition of forces, 
and began to carry out his disagreeable duty. All the in- 
habitants of the district were summoned to assemble, and 
when collected and surrounded by the soldiers he went 
among them : 



4^ ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

* * * and told them that they must Go with me lo fort Cumberland 
and Burn all their Buildings which made them Look very sober and De- 
jected, one of the french askt me for what Reason for he said he Never had 
Taken up arms against the English sence they had the fight at menas, and 
sence swore by the bible that he Never would, before Maj'' Philips of anop- 
ilis : and he was Ready to swear now and all the Rest mad the same Reply ; 
after this I told them they was Rebbelios, the frenchman askt me In what, 
I answered him In harbouring the Indians from Saint John's Island to go 
to the English Settlements in New England and Noviscotia and find them 
proviiions and ammonition which they answered me and said they was 
oblige to or the Indians would kill them. I told them if they had been 
true they might of ben protected by the English and I told them they 
might Cary their familys with them if they thought best; and upon that 
they ast me for to have the Liberty to go with their familys to the Island 
of Saint Johns but soon answered them itt Did not Lie in my power to Do 
itt, and they askt me Liberty for 2 hours to Consult wether they thought 
Best to Cary their familys. I Granted them the Liberty and after they had 
Consulted with each other they sent for me and they made this Reply that 
they had chose to Leave their familys, which I Readyly Granted for I Did 
not want the Trouble of the women and children. * * * this afternoon 
I ordered the whole to be Drawed up in a Bodey and bid the french men 
march of and sott fire to their Buildings and Left the women and children 
to Tack Care of themselues with grate Lamentation which I must Confess 
itt seemed to be snmthing shoking. 

And thus the pillage and destruction, the wailing of 
women widowed and children made fatherless went on 
from hamlet to hamlet, and when the torch had desolated 
the district assigned to him. Captain Willard marched 
back to Fort Cumberland and reported to Colonel Monck- 
ton. That magnate seemed much pleased with his con- 
duct, and invited him to supper in his tent. That this 
service was not only inglorious and ungrateful to the brave, 
but attended with much hardship, is attested by the follow- 
ing documents from Massachusetts Archives, lv, 62 and 
63. They are in the handwriting of Secretary Josiah 
Willard : 

Sir: I have received your Letter giving me an acct. of the Hardships 
your poor Soldiers are exposed to. I sincerely Compassionate their un- 
happy case & I pray God to find out some Way for their Relief. The 
Governor is not expected here till the month of Decemb''. When he 
arrives I shall endeavour to mention the affair to him. In the mean time. 



LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 49 



I have written a Letter to Major General Winslow which I have left open, 
Leaving it with you to deliver it or not as you shall judge best, first seal- 
ing it before you deliver it. The Council being informed that I had a 
Letter from you upon the subject of these Hardships of the Soldiers 
desired me to communicate it to them, which I did. What they will do 
upon it I know not. 

October 31, 1755. To Abijah Willard. 

Boston, Oct. 31, 1755 
Sir: 1 have lately rec^ a Letter from my Kinsman Cpt. Abijah 
Willard expressing his tender concern for his soldiers who are exposed to 
ly in Tents in this cold season now coming on and their cloath now worn 
out. I would fain use any Interest 1 could make that may contribute to 
the Relief of these and other the Provincial soldiers in Nova Scotia in 
the like circumstances, but 1 am a perfect stranger both to Governor Law- 
rence & Coll. Monkton. But the acquaintance I have of you & my knowl- 
edge of your compassionate spirit, especially towards the soldiers under 
your command in like circumstances, urges me to write to you on this 
occasion (not from any Distrust I have of your care in these matters, but 
possibly as your Distance from the Place where this Company is quartered 
may keep you in some Ignorance of the Difficulties these poor men labour 
under) to desire you would interpose your best offices for their Relief. It 
seems that these men can be of little service in act of Duty required of 
them while they are so destitute of ihe necessary Comforts & Refresh- 
ments of Life. You will excuse this Freedom. With my earnest desires 
of the gracious Presence of God with you & particularly to prosper your 
enterprises for the Good of your nation & Country I am, Sir, Your very 
humble servt, Josiah Willard. 

The Lancaster soldiers, ill clad, often inefficiently pro- 
visioned, and suffering much from the rigors of the climate, 
spent the dreary Canadian winter in barracks at Fort Cum- 
berland. In April, 1756, they were allowed to return to 
their homes. As we have seen, this was not Captain Wil- 
lard's first experience of Nova Scolia, nor was it to be his 
last. Little more than twenty years passed from the time 
when he assisted in forcing the broken-hearted Acadian 
farmers into exile, and again he sailed for Nova Scotia, 
himself a fugitive, proscribed as a Tory, his ample estate 
confiscated and his name a reproach among his life-long 
neighbors. As thousands of French Neutrals, from Geor- 
gia to Massachusetts Bay, sighed away their lives with 



so ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

grieving for their lost Acadia, so we know Abijah Willard,' 
so long as he lived, looked westward with yearning heart 
toward that elm-shaded home so famihar to all Lancas- 
trians. On the coast of the Bay of Fundy, about ten miles 
west of St. John, is a locality yet called Lancaster. Col- 
onel Abijah Willard gave it the name. It was his retreat 
in exile, and there he died in 1789. 

Of the thousand Acadians apportioned to the Province 
of Massachusetts, the committee appointed by General 
Court for the duty of distributing them among the several 
towns, sent three families, including twenty persons, to 
Lancaster. These were : Benoni Melanson, his wife Mary, 
and children Mary, Joseph, Simeon, John, Bezaleel, Carre, 
and another daughter not named ; Geoffrey Benway, Abi- 
gail his wife, and children John, Peter, Joseph, and Mary ; 
Theal Forre, his wife Abigail, and children Mary, Abigail 
and Margaret. The Forre family were soon transferred to 
Harvard. These exiles arrived in February, 1756, and the 
accounts of the town's selectmen for their support were reg- 
ularly rendered until February, 1761. They were destitute, 
sickly, and apparently utterly unable to support themselves, 
and were billeted now here, now there, among the farmers, 
at a fixed price of two shillings and eightpence each per 
week for their board. Sometimes a house was hired for 
them, and, in addition to rent paid, we find in the select- 
men's charges such items as these : 

{, s d qr 

To cash pd for an Interpreter and paper, 3 4 

To what Nessecareys we found them, 1080 

To 472 weight of Befe cost, 3321 

To Corn that they have had & yoused, with Sauss, 10 8 

To one Bushel of Salt & Salting the Befe, 5 6 

to one washing tub, 2 earthen pots & pail, 4 o 

to wood for the winter season for the year 1757, 168 

Direct evidence to the helpless condition of the two fam- 
ilies of French Neutrals in Lancaster is given in a letter 
from the selectmen, dated January 24, 1757, found in Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, xxiii, 330 : 



LANCASTER AND THE ACADIANS. 51 

and here Foloweth an account of the curcumstances, age and sexes of 
those people, thare Is to famles Consisting of fifteen In Number, the 
whole to witt. Benoni Melanso with his wife of about fourty four or five 
years of age, and they have seven children thre Boyes and four Girlls, the 
Eldest Girl about 17 years old. the boye Next about 15 years old. Sickly. 
Can Do Nothing, ye Next Boy 12 years old. ye Next boy 10 years old, 
and ye four Girlls all under them Down to two years old, and the woman 

almost a Criple The Name of the others is Jefray & his wife. 

he almost an Idiot and aboute 46 years old they have four chil- 
dren 3 Boyes & one Girll. ye Eldest Boye 10 yeares old & ye Rest Down 
to two years old. W" Richardson i Selectmen 

John Carter > of 
Joshua Fairbank ) Lancaster 

Shortly after the date of the above, these unhappy peo- 
ple suddenly disappeared from their habitation. Reckless 
with homesickness, they had stolen away and made a bold 
push for the sea, in the vain hope that on it they might 
float back to the Basin of Minas. This was in the depth 
of winter, February, 1757. They reached the coast at 
Weymouth, where they soon encountered the questioning 
of local authority, and to excuse their intrusion Melanson 
made complaint against his Lancaster guardians. The his- 
tory of the case is in Massachusetts Archives, xxiii, 356 : 

The Committee to whom was referred the Petition of Benoni Melanzon 
in behalf of himself and sundrie other French People, Having met and 
heard the Petition and one of the Selectmen of Lancaster, relating to the 
several matters therein Complained of and also have heard the Representa- 
tive of Weymouth where the French People mentioned in s<i. Petition 
at present reside : Beg leave to report as follows. Viz : That it doth not 
appear that y^ Petitioner had any Grounds to complain of the selectmen of 
Lancaster or either of them relating the matter complained of, and there- 
fore Beg leave further Report that the Committee are of oppinion that the 
said French People be ordered forthwith to Return to Lancaster from 
whence they in a disorderly manner withdrew themselves, all which is 
Humbly submited. pr order of the Comitte 

Silvanus Bourn. 

/« Council, February 24, 1757. 

Read and ordered that this Report be so far accepted as relates to the 
Petitioners Complaint of his Treatment at Lancaster being without 
Grounds, but inasmuch as the Petitioner others to undertake for the support 
of himself and the other French removed from Lancaster except in the 



52 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

_ f 

article of Firing and House Room, and is likewise willing that two of his 
sons be placed out in Families and inasmuch as the Petitioner is by 
employment a Fisherman, which cannot be exercised at Lancaster, there- 
fore. Ordered that he have liberty to reside in the Town of Weymouth 
until! this Court shall otherwise order, and the Selectmen of said Town 
are impowered to place two of his sons in English families for a reasonable 
term and to provide House Room for the Rest, & the liberty of cutting as 
much Firewood as is necessary in as convenient a Lot as can be procured. 
The account of the Charge of House Rent and Firewood to be allowed 
out of the Province Treasury. 

Sent down for concurrence. 
Feb. 25, 1757. Thos. Clarke, Dcpty.Secy. 

In the House of Representatives. 

Read and unanimously non concurred, and ordered that Report of the 

Com''''^ be accepted &; y' the said French Neutrals so called be directed to 

return forthwith to ye Town of Lancaster accordingly. 

Sent up for Concurrence. 

T. Hubbard, Spkr. 

In Council, Feb. 25, 1757. 

Read & Concurred. A. Oliver, Secy. 

Consented to. S. Phips. 

They were soon again in the quarters whence they fled. 
In June, 1760, the Melanson family were divided between 
Lunenburg, Leominster, and Hardwick, while the Ben- 
ways remained. Among the petitioners for leave to go to 
"Old France," a little later, appear "Benoni Melanson and 
Marie, with family of seven," and from that date the waifs 
from Acadia appear no more in the annals of Lancaster. 



HI. THE SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION AND FORT 
WILLIAM HENRY. 

1756-1757- 
Hardly had Captain Abijah Willard tasted the comforts 
of home after returning from Acadia, before the following 
letter came to him from his late commander : 

Albany, May 27, 1756. 
His Excellency Ceneral Shirley haveing Directed me to acquaint you 
that as he is Determined for the Good of His Majesty's Service to raise an 



SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 53 

Independant Company on the Terms by him proposed and herewith 
Inclosed and being Sensable of your Abilletys for such a Command has 
proposed you for their Captain and Doubt not of your acceptance and has 
also appointed Jotham Gay (whom you Know) as Lieut and the other offi- 
cers you will appoint prefarance aliways to be Given those that wer with 
us at Nova Scotia and as many of those men to be employ'd as Can be 
Obtained being somewhat used to This Kind of Duty. What Inlist- 
ment you want you will apply to Mr Draper, money you find to Mr 
Apthorp. But should it so happen that your Curcumstances will not 
Admitt of your proceding on the Expedition his Excellency has reposed 
the Trust In you Either to Grant the favour to you Intended To Capt. 
Bailey or Jones as It best Suits and you Judge for the Good of the Service 
hope to see you Soon as your very humble serv' 

John Winslow. 
To Capt. Abijah Willard. 

[Winslow Papers of Massachusetts Historical Society, 63.J 

No reply from Willard is found, but his domesdc affairs 
doubdess demanded his presence, for he did not enter the 
service under his old commander. War was at last form- 
ally declared between France and Great Britain. Shirley's 
plan of the campaign for 1756 was the same as that of the 
preceding year, and its results were as meagre. The pro- 
vincial forces assembling at Albany awaited the arrival of 
the royally commissioned general, Shirley having been 
superseded. Abercrombie came in June, and awaited his 
superior. Earl Loudoun. Loudoun arrived late in July, 
and energetically continued the loitering policy. The 
Massachusetts men were in the field early in the spring. 
John Whitcomb, Esq., of Bolton, was one of those ap- 
pointed March 9, 1756, by the council, "a Committee to 
reside at Albany or parts adjacent * * * to take care of 
the transportation of the provisions and other stores for the 
use of the forces of the Province." Hezekiah Gates of 
Lancaster served as their assistant, and William Richard- 
son of Lancaster as purchasing agent. Certain letters of 
theirs contain matters of interest relating to the quarter- 
master's department of the army : 



54 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster March ye 31, 1756. 
To the Honrbie. John Osburti Esqr. &^ the Rest of Honrbie Cofnmittee of 
Wa7'r. 

Gentlemen, this Is to Inform you that I am Just Returned from the 
westward from purchising Cattle & to Let you Now that I have secured 
aboute seventey two or thre & I had the fortune to be first In the affair for 
as I came Back out of hadley I met Coll" Murey a going In. I have with 
a great Deel of Trouble got Good Cattle but thay at the first asked me 
twentey pence pr pound those having Given eighteen pence for ye Goven- 
er's servis & paid thre pounds pr weke for caping till thay went, but fineley 
I purchised for eighteen pence & some for sixteen & thay must goe the 13'^ 
or 14"^ of April which time I shall set out, thay Not being able to Cape 
them Longer. I shall be at Boston the 5"' Day of April to wait upon your 
Honr^ for aboute 250 pounds more. I being obliged to promis ye owners 
of ye Cattle to pay the Rest when I tak away ye Cattle. No more present. 
Begg Leve to subscribe my selef your Honours friend & most Humble 
ser'. Wm Richardson. 

P. S. Cattle are Very carse & I believe Coll Murey wont be able to 
get above 100 for the Province if he Dos y' that are good. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LV, 162 J 

To the Honrbie John Osbiirn Esq^ 5r^ the Rest of y Honr^ie Coimnittee of 
Warr. 
Gentlemen. This is to Inform you that my son withe the Rest of the 
people Returned from Albany ye 28''* of April with a Recepte for 68 Cat- 
tle one of the fatest tired at Shefield but Mr. Ashley one of the Commis- 
sioners said he would take Care and Get him up after he had Rested, but 
it is Verey Surprising to me that men equal to such a trust as is Reposed 
In them should send me a Recept for 68 Cattle part for Befe & part for 
working, it Is true there was as I told your Honours aboute 12 or 14 that 
I told you was Not so fat as the Rest, but not one but what was Handsom 
befe. but we was unfortunate as to set oute them 3 first Days which Tok 
their stumock of from eating & my son telles me they eate Verey Little 
all ye way to Albaney, which Caused them to Look Verey thin which mis- 
fortune I conld not help, but the Rest of the Cattle was the Best that Could 
be got In the Countrey & was fatt Cattle & some of the Best Sort, how- 
ever I Take it that Mr Livermore & Mr Foye that was the Commissioners 
that ware at Albaney either would not make a Resonable alowance for the 
Cattle being Drove so farr or modestly speking they had not Judgment so 
to Do, but however thay may Right I am sure In this that I have Done all 
the Justice that I am capable of. My people telles me that thay were De- 
tained two Days at Albaney thay promising to send a Gard to the hafe 
moon, but fineley sent none & sent for ouer people to bring the Cattle over 
the River which thay Did the Cost of which with ye two Days Expences 
amounted to upwards of thirteen pounds the Gentlemen I understand was 



SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 55 

so busey aboute their tea Dishes and other Delights of Life, thay could 
not attend & This Gentleman from your frend & Humble ser'. 

Wm Richardson 

Lancaster, April y^ 30*^", 1756. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LV, 202.] 

Stillwater, May 25, 1756 

We Arived hear yesturday about the middle of the Afternoon and find 
timber Redy hewed to build the Greatest part of the fourt and store house 
and bords for all and find a Good place to build on whare the River that 
Runs from the Saw-mill Coms to the Great River; the things which you 
sent me a List of are Come, thare is no Great pot nor pail nor Large brass 
kettle nor tents which the other Committee men have, whicb things we 
cannot well do without, for we have nothing to fetch water in nor to wash 
in, nor any Gun tent which we much need, 3 or 4 bags of bullits we want. 
I hope we shall Go to build your Station in about 3 days, we have about 
300 rnen with us and we shall want about 200 more for part must be Im- 
ployed in bringing the stores hear. Your most obedient Servant 

Hezekiah Gates 

N. B. pray sir send the tin Kettles for Cap Ballard's Company if they 
are come. I hope sir you will find it out for I was obliged to wright upon 
my Knee. 

Stiper scribed: Colin yohn Chote at Albatiy. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LV, 272.J 

Upper falls, June 14, 1756 
We are Generaly well hear. I have Received about 1000 bis of stores 
and sent to fourt Edward above 800 bis of stores, the cheaf Commander 
of fourt Edward is a man of Government. I do not think he Incorigeth 
our people to Go in the battoes from this fourt we man but 10 battoes and 
6 or 7 from the fourt the commanding offisser thare sends word to us our 
people had best Lodge thare thay have once don it and ware obliged some 
to Gard the Rest to Ly under the battoes and if they are obliged to Lodge 
thare I cannot Git aney to Go in the battoes and if so the stores will be 
much stopped hear, but Cap Nelsons is this day Gone up to the fourt to 
see what he can do. I had the affair in so Good a way before this hap- 
pened the stores went as fast as thay came, above 130 bis, in one day and 
was Increasing- pray sur send me money to pay the battoe men as soon 
as may be, for I shall pay them all the money I have of my own now to 
Incorrage them for they say the promisses made to them Last year was not 
fulfiled and It will be so this, bullits we have none the bl of powder we 
have is cannon powder, pray send Bullits and pistol powder. Sur I desire 
you will send me some cider, sugar, and chocolat. We have none to 
speak of. Cap Whipple is Gone to fourt Edward to Receve the Stores 
with Sum of his men, pray send Cap Houghton's men as .soon as may be 
for we have 30 in battoes, 40 In the Gaurds to fort Edward out of about 



\ 



56 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

115 men, the duty is hard : to onlode the stores and store them and deliver 
them to the battoes, 4 or 5 of Leut Hunts men do It. but they are worn 
out, thayer fingers blead and sore with handling Barrels, and desire to Go 
m the battoes. pray sir if you Intend to forward the business hear, send 
Cap. Houghton's men and money to pay the battoe men with. I am your 
most obedient Servant Hezekiah Gates. 

Superscribed: Coll John Whitcotnb. Ai the Half Moon. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LV. 326.] 

Hunt's and Houghton's men, referred to in this letter, 
were of Lancaster, Bolton and adjoining towns. From the 
headquarters of General Winslow, at Half Moon, a road ran 
beside the Hudson to Stillwater. Thence stores were con- 
veyed by water to Saratoga, where they were again loaded 
upon wagons and carried to Upper Falls to be transported 
by batteaux to Fort Edward, an irregular fortification built 
of hewn timber, on the east bank of the Hudson, about 
fifty miles above Albany. Fort WilHam Henry was sup- 
plied from Fort Edward over a wagon-road of fourteen 
miles' length. The next month Gates is farther north upon 
the river : 

Fort Miller July 22, 1756 

After my humble duty to your Honour, I would Inform your Honour 

that I have taken the names of 36 men by their Consent to serve in the 

Battoes but several of them are gone already from me. Capt. George 

Harmer has ordered his men to Lave the Battaux Service. Capt. Andrew 

Fuller's men are gone from me, the officers Uiscourageing them by Calling 

them Cowards and Otherways. Peter Graves Charles Boyles with others 

are gone from me. Sr. I wait your Orders and Directions in these affairs 

for If the Battaux are Stopt for want of men to go in them the Expedition 

will be hindred for here is a Quantity of Warr like Stores already and 

Other Stores daily Coming here. No Doubt In your great Wisdom you 

will direct In the Best manner In these affairs. Your most humble and 

Obedient Servant. Hezekiah Gates. 

To General Winslow. 

[Winslow Papers, II, 92.] 

The Lancaster soldiers of 1756 were mostly in the reg- 
iment of Colonel Jonathan Bagley, and the company of 
Captain Benjamin Ballard, the roll of which, containing 
fifty names, is in Massachusetts Archives, xcv, 17 and 18: 



SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 57 

Benjamin Ballard, captain, Henry Bridgeman, Joseph Priest, 

Sherebiah Hunt, limtenant, Josiah Divol, Samuel Ross, 

Henry Haskell, sergeant, Andrew Goodfry(^/>ia^), David Thurston, 

James Crosfield, corporal, Benjamin Houghton, Gardner Wilder 

John Manning " Joseph Houghton, Elijah Woods, 

Samuel Ballard, clerk, Abner Haskell, Samuel Woods, 

Elijah Beeman, Jeremiah Dickenson, {died). 

Captain Timothy Houghton, also in Colonel Bagley's 
command, led a company largely recruited by his lieuten- 
ants from Waltham and Newton. The following were of 
Bolton : 

Captain Timothy Houghton, Zachariah Glazier, Josiah Priest, 

John Whitcomb, sergeant, Marmaduke Jos. Hamilton, 
Jonas Wilder " Robert Longley, Richard Townsend, 

Abraham Bruce, Francis McFadden, Levi Whitcomb, 

James Carruth, Samuel Nichols, Silas Whitcomb. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCiv, 382.] 

Hezekiah Gates of Lancaster was mustered with this 
company, but detached as assistant quartermaster by the 
war committee of the commonw^ealth, as heretofore stated. 

In Captain Thomas Hartwell's (Littleton) company of 
the same regiment were these men of Harvard : 

Benjamin Bridge, lieutenant, Abijah Coles, Uriah Holt. 

Justinian Holden, clerk, Isaac Day, Benjamin Hutchins, 

Gershom Hale, 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcv, 50-51.] 

In the company of Captain James Reed of Lunenburg, 
attached to Colonel Timothy Ruggles's regiment, were the 
following of Leominster : 

David Johnson, lieutenant, Peter Houghton, William Warner, 

Jonathan Houghton, Philip Sweetser, Phineas Wheelock, 

Jonathan White. 
William Barron of Lancaster, enlisted in this company, was appointed 
adjutant of the regiment in September. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCiv, 354; xcv, 131-2.] 

To thi Hon Spencer Phips Esq Lent Govern^ and Commander in Chief in 
and over his Majesties Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
England. 
In Obedience to his Excellencey's Command to me Directed on the 
5 



58 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

15''* of April Inst, to Coll my Company^ together on the 22'i Instant & 
agreable thereto I did & ther enlisted & Impressed as follows : 

Inlisted, Josiah Divoll Ivipj-essd, Abel Davis &^ he hired 

Henry Bridgman William Barron 

Sam'i. Ross Joseph Hartwell 

Will'". Warner Tho^ Smith, Jun. 

Manahsah Littel John Littel he hired 

Benj^. Hutchins John Brown 
Benj". Willson, Jim. 

John Munroe I subscribe myself your 

Zach''. Parker, Jun. Most obedient Hb'*^. Servant 

Jon''. Holdin Oliver Wilder 



Zach''. Farnsworth 



Lancaster, April 23'^, 1756. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCII, 157.] 



William Larkin and Gilbert Canad}^ served in Colonel 
Richard Gridley's regiment of artillery at Fort William 
Henry ; Josiah Holt, Joseph Ballard, Darius Hudson, Na- 
thaniel Hudson and William Richardson, Jr., were also in 
the service. In the Boston Weekly News Letter for Thurs- 
day, April 22, 1756, Benjamin Ballard of Lancaster pub- 
lished an advertisement, offering twelve dollars reward for 
the return of a lost "Buckskin Purse, containing the fol- 
lowing Pieces of Gold, viz: 13 Pieces of i8£ each, 12 
Pieces of i3£ io% and one Piece of 36£, Old Tenor." A 
subsequent petition of Captain Ballard's is given below : 

To His Hotionr Spencer Phips * * * * May 5, 1756. 

The Humble Memorial of Benjamin Ballard of Lancaster in Worcester 
County Sheweth that in March last having obtained a Captaincy in the 
Troops raised to go against Crown Point he took out of the Treasury of 
the Province about one hundred & forty pounds Lawful money, but as it 
was mostly in gold, he coud not pay the rnen who Inlisted without chang- 
ing the same into silver and on ye ninth of April last going towards No. 2 
he unfortunately lost out of his pocket fifty seven pounds & 12** part of the 
sum first mentioned as he was going to get it changed & he has never 
found it or any part of it again and unless he is relieved by your Hon"^ & 
Hon''^, th° about forty of his Company are gone forward & the rest are all 
ready, he cannot proceed in the Expedition as he proposed — therefore he 
humbly prays that the Treasurer may be ordred (upon your memo-' giving 
good security) to advance to him that sum out of the Treasury : and to 
stop so much hereafter out of what shall be due to your memorialist & his 



SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 59 

Company, or that he may be otherwise Relieved by your wisdom & good- 
ness, & as in duty bound shall pray- Benjn. Ballard. 

[Massachusetis Archives, LXXV, 543.] 

While Loudoun and Abercrombie debated and dallied, 
vigilant Montcalm dared, and the close of the year 1756 
saw the churches of Montreal and Qitebec decorated with 
British colors captured at Oswego. The two much vaunted 
expeditions against Crown Point, in the preparations for 
which Nc-w England had enthusiastically taxed all her re- 
sources, had never moved from the base of supplies. With 
the year 1757 a new plan of operations was resolved upon, 
Louisbourg being made the single point of attack. But 
Loudoun proved more earnest in asserting the royal pre- 
rogative in the colonial councils than in "seeking the bubble 
reputation in the cannon's mouth,'" and his masterly inac- 
tivity again gave Montcalm his opportunity. Nothing was 
won in the East, and Fort William Henry was lost in the 
West. Scant record is found of our townsmen during the 
year's campaigning. Colonel Joseph Frye marched from 
Fort Edward, August 2, with his regiment of Massachu- 
setts men and two hundred British troops, to succor Fort 
William Henry, then besieged b}^ Montcalm with an over- 
whelming force of French and Indians. On the surrender 
of that fort, August 9, a massacre ensued, from which Col- 
onel Frye and most of his men escaped with the loss of 
everything but life. How many and what soldiers of Lan- 
caster shared the horrors of that day will never be known, 
but Captain Hartwell of Lunenburg, Captain Arbuthnot 
of Marlborough and Captain Bailey served in the regi- 
ment, each leading from his neighborhood a company of 
one hundred men. 

To his Exxeleiicy T/u/nas Pjwnal humbly sheweth Phin^as 

Atherton of Lancaster in the County of Worcester that your Petitioner 
was a soldier in Captain HartwelFs Company in Col". Fry's Regiment in 
the public service A. D. 175.7 and that whilst he was in that service he was 
taken sick of the small Pox at Albaney by means of which he was put to 
the expence of six pounds twelve shillings York currency for nursing and 



6o ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

other necessarys, & your Petitioner therefore prays he may be reimbursed 
that sum or that such other relief may be granted to him as to your Hon- 
ours shall seem good and your Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray. 

Phineas Atherton. 
[Massachusetts Archives, LXXVIII, 8i.] 

A similar petition of Caleb Willard is in Massachusetts 
Archives, lxxvii, 596. In the regiment of Colonel Israel 
Williams, during 1757, served the follov\'ing : 

Benjamin Harris, aet. 24 Abel Wilder, aet. 21 Samuel Rugg, aet. 59 
Silvanus Harris '' 18 Moses Chandler" 25 Tho^ White " 17 

Elijah Prouty " 17 John Wilder "44 George Wheeler " 17 

At the general alarm consequent upon the expectation 
that Montcalm, flushed with his victory at Fort WilHam 
Henry, would make a bold push for Albany, the fourth 
part of the militia of Massachusetts were hurried towards 
that point with all possible speed. Captains Israel Taylor 
and Samuel Haskell of Harvard, Thomas Wilder of Leom- 
ster, John Carter and Nathaniel Sawyer of Lancaster, 
marched with from fifty to sixty men each as far as Spring- 
field, whence, Montcalm having retreated to Canada with 
the rich spoils of easily bought success, they were recalled. 
The rosters of their companies follow. A few of the sol- 
diers doubtless were not inhabitants of the town with whose 
company they served, but it is found impossible accurately 
to designate them : 

A Muster Roll of a Foot Company Cojitjnanded by Nathaniel Sawyer of 
Lancaster, Detached out of Colic Oliver Wilder''s Regimt. that 
Marchd on the late Alarm for the Relief of Fort William Henry, 
as far as Springfield. 

Capt. Nath". Sawyer Moses Sawyer Russel Knight 

Lieut. John White Josiah Divoll Joshua Johnson 

Ensign Reuben Rugg Joshua Fletcher John Stewart 

Sergt. Joseph White Lemuel Houghton Will'". Dunsmore 

" Amos Rugg Peter Larkin Ezekiel Kendall 

•' W'". Richardson, Jr. Josiah Fairbank David Willard 

" Gershom Flagg Moses Baily > Jon^. Buss 

Corp. Eph™. Willard Cyrus Fairbank Sam'. Houghton 

" Josiah Sawyer Sam". Ballard Solomon Houghton 



SECOND CROWN POINT EXPEDITION. 



6l 



Corp. Jacob Smith 
" Tho«. Kendall 

Private Jona. Kendall 
Josiah Locke 
Will'". Kendall 
Aaron Tufts 
Elijah Osgood 
Moses Wilder 



Nahum Houghton 
Jacob Bennet 
Elijah Beman 
Matthew Wyman 
Benj'\ Houghton 
Jeremiah Haskell 
Joseph Woods 
Will'". Willard 
Jon''. Whitney 



John McBride 
Nath". Hastings, Jr. 
Joshua Baily 
Jona. Osgood, Jun^. 
Sam". Snow 
Sam". Prentice 
Daniel Rugg 
Edward Robbins 



[Massachusetts Archives, xcv, 497.] 



A Muster Roll of a Moiinted Company Cotnmanded by yohn Carter of 
Lancaster, Detached out of Coll" Oliver Wilders Rigement that 
Marchd in the late alarm for the Fort William Henry as far as 
Springfield. 



Capt. John Carter 
Lieut. Hezekiah Gates 
Cornet Jon". Wilder 
Quar. Mr. Nath', Longley 
Chaplin Moses Hemingway 
Corp". Manasah Divoll 
" Abiathar Houghton 
" Gabriel Priest 
" Abijah Wyman 
Trumpeter Simon Butler 

" Abijah Houghton 
Jonas Whitcomb 
Phineas Sawyer 
Ephraim Fairbank 
Daniel Priest 
Thomas Beckford 



James Carter 
Hezekiah Gibbs 
Elijah Woods 
Eleazar Whitcomb 
Josiah Carter 
Sherebiah Hunt 
Oliver Pollard 
Hooker Osgood, Jr 
Joseph Heidrick 
Eph"'. Wilder, Jun. 
Paul Sawyer 
Sam". Thurston 
John Moor, Jun. 
Levi Woods 
Stephen Greenleaf 
Daniel Robbins 
Ezekiel Snow 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcvi, 181.] 



Nathan Burpee 
Jacob Stiles 
Joseph Houghton 
Hezekiah Whetcomb 
James Townsend 
Thos. May 
Nath". Houghton 
Edward Houghton 
James May 
David Osgood, Jr. 
Benj'*. Hastings 
Asa Whitcomb 
James Ross 
Joel Houghton 
Elijah Houghton 
Jon*. Robbins 



A Muster Roll of a Foot Coinpatiy Comfnanded by Thomas Wilder of 
Leominster 



Capt. Thomas Wilder 
Lieut. Samuel Nurse 
Ensign Josiah Bayley 
Sergt. Nathaniel Page 
" Caleb Sawyer 
" Oliver Hale 
" Nathan Bennett 
Corporal William Wilder 
*• Nathaniel Hastings 



James Ballard 
Gardner Wilder 
Philip Vorbach 
Silas Bayley 
Jacob Houghton 
Obadiah Gill 
Samuel Moore 
Henry Sartel 
Jonas Fife 



Joseph Davis 
Reuben Wyman 
Jacob Gould 
Aaron Taylor 
Jonathan Page, Jr. 
Ephraim Osburn 
Timothy Fox 
Seth Dodge 
John Leach 



62 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Corporal Phineas VVheelock 

" John Pol'ard 
Benjamin VVhitcomb 
Jonathan White 
James Simonds 
Rufus Houghton 
Amos Kendall 
Kendall Boutell 
Joseph FoUey 
Nathaniel Colburn 
Luke Richardson 
Asa Johnson 
Oliver VVyman 



Abijah Pratt 
James Snow 
Matthew Knight 
Samuel Bruce 
Wil iam Pollard 
James Mc Bride 
Jabez Bears 
Elijdi Wilson 
Jonathan Holman 
John Pyper 
John Grout 
Jondthan Messard 
Jonathan Page 

[Massachusetts Arch 



Zebulon Dodge 
Jonathan Wood 
Silas Dutton 
Jonathan Holt 
Asa Sartell 
WilliaiTi Kimball 
Reuben Smith 
John Symonds 
Amos Hazeltine 
William Steward 
Samuel Hodgkin 
David Peirce 

ives, xcvi, 4 and 535.] 



Captain Wilder's lieutenant and many of his men were 
residents of Bolton, but as the residences are not recorded 
in the roll, it is not alvva3's possible to locate the soldier. 

A Muster Roll of a Foot Company Coniinaiided by Israel Taylor of 
Harvard 



Capt. Israel Ta3-lor 
Lieut. Daniel Whitney 
Ensign Phiiieas Fairbank 
Sergt. Oliver Stone 
" Silas Wetherby 
" David J e welt 
" Joseph Wetherby 
Corporal Zebulon Peirce 
" Isaac Stone 



Joseph Houghton 
Jonathan Sampson 
John Houghton 
Amos Fairbank 
Hezekiah Whitney 
Abel Davis 
Nathaniel Gates 
Samuel Mead 
Samuel iVlead, Jr. 
Richard Whitney 



" Abel Farnsworth 

" William Sanderson Josiah Whitney 
Joseph Eveleth Nathan Warner 

Elias Stone William Farmer 

Abijah Cole Micah Stone 

Gordon Hutchins Abraham Willard 

Williain Burt John Atherton 

Benjamin Barnard Deliverance Davis 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcv, 489.] 



William Withington 
Amos Ray 
Thomas Osburn 
Elisha Gates, Jr. 
Pliineas Taylor 
Jeremiah Whitney 
Samuel Farr 
John Davidson 
Daniel Rand 
Jabez Brown 
John Whitaker 
Jonathan Conant 
Daniel Allen 
Jonas Brown 
William Jewell 
Asa Willard 



A Muster Roll of a Company of Troopers com»ianded by Samuel Has- 
kell of Harvard .... 

Capt. Samuel Haskell Isaac Gates Charles Willard 

Lieut. Samuel Tuttle Samuel Finney Josiah Priest, Jr. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



63 



Cornet Samuel Fellows 

Quartermaster Jon". Reed 

Corp. Benjamin Hale 
" Jeremiah Laughton 
" Jonathan Wheeler 

Barnabas Davis, Jr. 

Jonas Peirce 

Stephen Tuttle 

Aaron Rand 

Simon Blanchard 



Moses Whitney 
Nathaniel Holman 
Oliver Tenney 
Phineas Willard, Jr. 
John Meriam 
Ezekiel Haskell 
John Cobleigh 
Aaron Davis 
Thomas Wright, Jr. 
Judah Clark 



John Sawyer 
Caleb Sawyer 
William Houghton 
Daniel Houghton 
Robert Whitcomb 
Nathaniel Houghton 
Peter Fox 
Peter Willard 
Thomas Houghton 
James Crosfield 



[Massachusetts Archives, xcv, 533.] 



III. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

1758-1763. 
The return of William Pitt to power, practically as dic- 
tator, took place in June, 1757. The sagacity and vigor' 
of his war policy were quickly felt wherever England had 
an enemy. He repaid to the colonies the expenditures 
incurred by them in the contest with the French, and prom- 
ised them protection from the official rapacity and arrogance 
under which they had long suffered, thus inspiring them 
with new confidence. The ever unready Loudoun disap- 
peared from American shores, and Major-General Jeffrey 
Amherst succeeded to the chief command. He too was 
cautious to excess, but thoroughly reliable, and associated 
with him was the impetuous Brigadier, James Wolfe. The 
military imbecile, Abercrombie, was unfortunately retained, 
but, to atone for this chief's lethargy, the king's cousin, "the 
Bayard of the British army," Lord George Augustus Howe, 
was joined with him in command, and the inspiration of his 
chivalric energy soon pervaded the conduct of the cam- 
paign. The days of sloth and inactivity appeared to be at 
an end. England furnished over twenty thousand of her 
best troops, and the colonies strained their every resource, 
resolved to close the long contest by a vigorous onslaught 
along the whole line of debatable territory. At the north, 
Louisbourg fell under the daring and skilfully directed as- 



64 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

saulls of the British naval and land forces. At the south, 
Washington, under General John Forbes, planted the Brit- 
ish colors over the fortress of Duquesne. 

The central column, under Abercrombie, to which had 
been allotted the capture of Ticonderoga, met with the 
wonted ill fortune of its commander, owinc^ to his disijrace- 
ful mismanafjement. With this column were the Massa- 
chusetts men, seven thousand in number. The expedition, 
consisting of twenty-four regiments, and numbering over 
fifteen thousand men, started out July 5, in batteaux, down 
Lake George, and, landing at a point near its outlet, the 
next day began the march towards the French fort in two 
divisions, upon both sides of the stream. An advanced 
detachment of the enemy was encountered in the dense 
woods, and a brisk engagement ensued, lasting less than 
an hour, which resulted in the rout and capture of the 
French ; but the victory was bought at a fearful price, with 
the loss of the dearly beloved Lord Howe, who was killed 
while pressing forward in the van of the right division. 
The diary of the Reverend John Cleaveland informs us 
that Colonel Jonathan Bagley's Massachusetts regiment 
made the charge upon the right, and Dr. Caleb Rea, sur- 
geon of that regiment, records that "Colonel Bagley be- 
haved extremely well in battle." 

Abercrombie seems to have lost, after Lord Howe's fall, 
whatever judgment he possessed, and timidly fell back to 
ponder over the situation. Advancing again on the morn- 
ing of July 8, he drew up his forces, four-fold those of 
Montcalm, before the outworks of the fortress, which was 
protected by water and impassable swamps on all sides but 
one. Hitherto always dilatory, he now became foolhardy. 
Following the advice of a rash staff-officer, without await- 
ing his artillery and in contempt of the urgent remonstrance 
of experienced provincial leaders — among whom was 
Stark — he at once ordered an assault by columns upon 
intrenchments bristling with formidable abatis. Four hours 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 65 

of desperate and useless fighting followed. About two 
thousand brave men were sacrificed, and the next day the 
dazed " Mrs. Nabby Crombie " was leading an ignominious 
retreat from a force vastly inferior to his own, to resume his 
normal occupation — planning fortifications. Again the 
colonies saw themselves hampered rather than helped by 
the royal officers. Again their enthusiasm and sacrifice 
had been brought to naught by official dawdling and stu- 
pidity. Remembering Louisbourg, the veteran provincial 
leaders might well regret that they had not been left un- 
aided by the king's troops in their contest with Canada. 

In the regiment of Colonel Bagley, John Whitcomb was 
lieutenant-colonel and his brother led a company of ninety- 
eight, thirty-six of whom were credited to Lancaster, 
twenty-six to Bolton, and thirteen to Shrewsbury. Several 
of these last resided in a precinct then, in part, Lancaster 
territory, and the roll will therefore be given in full. The 
service was from March to December, 1758 : 

Muster Roll of a Company of Capt. Asa Whitcovib in a Regiment raised 
by the Province of the Massachusetts Bay for the Reduction of Canada, 
whereof fonathan Bagley, Esq., is Colonel. 

Asa Whitcomb, Esq., ^rt//., Lancaster David Goodman, Shrewsbury 

Benj'\ Hastings, lieut., Bolton Jonathan Goodnow, " 

Francis Temple, " Shrewsbury Job Harris, Holden 

Zachariah Longley, ensign, Groton John Houghton, Bolton 

Stephen Greenleaf, sergt., Bolton Nathan Harrington, Shirley 

Jacob Smith, sergt., Lancaster, {died) Jotham Houghton, Bolton 

Abner Cranson, " Marlborough Ezekiel Hutson, Shrewsbury 

Abner Osgood, " Lancaster Joseph Hale, Bolton 

Artemas Maynard, c£>r/., Shrewsbury Nathaniel Hastings, Lancaster 

Micah Harthan, " Lancaster Darius Hutson, Shrewsbury 

John Wheeler, " Bolton Daniel Johnson, Lancaster 

Timothy Hale, " Littleton John Ingoldsby, Shrewsbury 

Josiah Priest, drummer, Bolton Joshua Johnson, Lancaster 

Benjamin Atherton, Lancaster Phillip Jeno, " {died) 

Micah Briant, Shrewsbury Joseph Keyes, Bolton 

Thomas Bennett, Shirley Eli Keyes, Jr., Shrewsbury 

John Brooks, Lancaster Mathias Larkin, Bolton 

Benj. Bruce, Bolton W">. Larkin, Lancaster 

Ephraim Browne, Bolton Edmund Larkin, " 



66 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Asaph Butler, Lancaster 

Shubael Baily, Jr., Lancaster 

Will"'. Brabrook, Lancaster, {missing) 

Isaac Brooks, Bolton 

Abraham Bruce, " 

Jabez Bears, " 

John Baily, Lancaster 

Jabez Bigelow, No. 2 

Joseph Bigsby, Lancaster 

Will'". Barrack, Shrewsbury 

Eben Bigelow, Lancaster, {died) 

Sam^ Bigsby, Shrewsbury 

John Browne, Marlborough 

Benoni Biglow, Bolton 

Abraham Barnes, Marlborough 

Jedediah Cooper, Lancaster 

James Carruth, Bolton 

Oliver Dresser, Lancaster 

Oliver Dinsmore, " 

Niithan Eager, " 

Joseph Eveleth, Stow 

Robert Fletcher, Lancaster 

Phineas Goodale, " 

John Gourden, Stow 

Daniel Goss, Shrewsbury 

Jonathan Geary, Lancaster, {died) 

Ephraim Goss, " 

Joseph Goodale, Marlborough 

David Goodale, Bolton 

James Goodnow, Shrewsbury 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCVI, 102, 478-8 



W™. Longley, Shirley 
Joseph Longley, " 
Francis McFadden, Bolton 
John McBride, Lancaster 
Abner Marble, Stow 
Amos Meriam, Bolton 
Joseph Pratt, " 

Amos Ray, Marlborough 
Richard Roberts, Bolton 
W"'. Simons, Jun., Shirley 
Moses Sawyer, Lancaster 
Nathan Smith, Shirley 
William Sawyer, Bolton 
Ezekiel Snow, Lancaster 
Jacob Smith, Shrewsbury 
James Squireen, Lancaster 
Aholiab Sawyer, Bolton 
John Sampson, Lancaster 
Jonathan Taille, Groton 
Benj^. Townsend, Bolton 
Aaron Tufts, Lancaster 
David Thurston, " 
Jonathan Townsend, Lancaster 
Asa Taylor, No. 2 
John Whitney, Shirley 
Phineas Wilder, Lancaster 
Josiah Woods, Bolton 
Silas Warner, Lancaster 
Levi Whetcomb, Bolton 
Elijah Woods, Lancaster 
Jedediah Woods, " 
I.] 



In the company of Captain Salmon Whitney of the same 
regiment were these Lancaster soldiers : 

William Farmer, John Larkin, {died) Joseph Woods. 

Of Harvard were these : 



Lieut. Judah Clark, 



Jonas Davis, 



Sergt Abraham Willard, Josiah Davis, 
Sergt. Jonathan Whitney, Samuel Fellows, 
Corp. Samuel Mead, Stephen Gates, 

John Burt, James Haskell, 

David Brown, Solomon Haskell, 



Asahel Nickerson, 
Jonathan Parkhurst, 
John Rugg, 
David Sampson, 
David Sanderson, 
Amos Stone, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA, 



67 



John Cole, 
John Daby, 



Aretus Houghton, 
Joseph Houghton, 



Samuel Wetherby, 

Hezekiah Whitney, 

Asa Willard. 
[Massachusetts Archives, xcvr, 473. J 

In the regiment of Colonel Timothy Ruggles, Captain 
Joseph Whitcomb of Lancaster and Captain James Reed 
of Lunenburg led companies. Billeting rolls only of these 
commands have been found, and in them no residences are 
given. Colonel Ruggles assembled his command at North- 
ampton, started thence June 3, and marched for five days 
— through what was then a wooded wilderness, absolutely 
without white inhabitants — to Albany. During the battle 
of Ticonderoga the regiment was detailed as rear guard at 
the saw-mills, where it threw up earthworks. Thencefor- 
ward it was engaged in rebuilding and improving the mili- 
tary roads between Saratoga and Albany, until it was 
marched home in November. Serving under Captain 
Whitcomb were the following men known to belong to 
Lancaster : 



Joseph Beaman, 
William Brown, 
John Head ley, 
Levi Kendall, 
Simon Kendall, {died) 



Amos Knight, 
Jonathan Phillips, 
James Pratt, 
Benjamin Priest, 
Joshua Proutee, 



There were from Leominster 



John Beaman, 

Of Harvard were 

Jonathan Conant, 
John Davidson, 



Joshua Pierce, 
Peter Houghton. 



William Jewett, 
John Taylor, 
Israel Hale. 



Richard Proutee, 
George Wheeler, 
Asa Whitcomb, 
Joseph Whitcomb, Jr. 
Henry Wyman. 

Oliver Wyman, 



Jonathan Whitney, 
Thomas White. 



In Captain Reed's command were Lancaster men 

Phineas Bailey, 
Benjamin Hinds, 

Of Leominster were : 



Simeon Johnson, 
William Kendall, 



Josiah Locke. 
Tilley Wilder. 



Timothy Boutell, 
Elias Carter, 



John Grout, 
Nathaniel Page, 



John Simonds, 
Abel Wheelock. 



68 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Of Harvard were : 

John Conn, Phineas Farnsworth, Isaac Stone, 

Jonathan Creasy, Ephraim Robbins, Jonathan White, 

Joseph Davis, Samuel Sanderson. 

Of Bolton were : 

Hezekiah Gibbs, Joseph Hazletine, Joseph Snow, 

Jacob Gould. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCVI, 137-8.] 

In various other rolls proof is found that the following 
men from Lancaster served during 1758 : 

Joseph Bailey, John McCarty, Joseph Stewart, 

Samuel Ballard, Ebenezer Pike, Jotham Wilder 

Elijah Beaman, Moses Redman, Nathaniel Willard, 

Isaac Eveleth, Joseph Squirean, Aaron Willard. 

The last named led a light-infantry company in the reg- 
iment of Colonel Oliver Partridge, and was severely 
wounded in the battle at Ticonderoga. He had been a 
lieutenant with Captain Caleb Willard of Lunenburg, and 
while in service was placed in command of a company of 
light infantry, Nathaniel Willard serving with him as sub- 
altern. The following undated petition is in Massachusetts 
Archives, lxxviii, 224 : 

Province of the MassacJnisetts Bay. To his Excellency Thomas Powna 
Esq. To the honourable his Majesty^s Councill, the Jiononrable the House 
of Representatives : humbly sheweth Aaron Willard of Lancaster that your 
Petitioner was a Captain in the Provincial Service in the Regiment of 
Light Infantry at the late Battle of Ticondaroga, that in that Engagement 
your Petitioner was shot through the Trunk of his Body about the bottom 
of his Breast, with which wound he lay a long time in a hopeless condition 
and so weak that he could not be moved to any Hospital for above a month 
and from thence your Petitioner got home by slow degrees about the end 
of September in a languishing Condition unable to do any work and con- 
tinueing to this day under the care of a Physician ; by means of all which 
your Petitioner has been put to great and extraordinary expences of living 
in a manner sutable to his woands and Consumptive habit, abroad and at 
home, besides the loss of time and great Damage to his future strength of 
body. Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays your Excellency and Hon- 
ours to consider his case and grant that the sum of Twenty-one pounds 
which he has expended for surgery medicines and many necessary things 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 69 

since your Petitioner received his wound may be allowed him, or grant 
such other relief as in your Wisdom you shall see meet, and your Petitioner 
as in Duty bound shall ever pray, Aaron Willard 

Numerous memorials in the state archives instruct us in 
the spirit and manners of the time, and the sacrifices of the 
patriotic soldier. Extracts from some of these follow : 

Lancaster Sept. 18, 1758. These may sertify that my son Samuel 
Ballard was Taken Captive near Ticondaroga about the 25"^ June Last 
being with Leut. Stephens ; he was a Ranger in Capt. John Stark's Com- 
pany. Benjn. Ballard. 
To the Honbie Andrew Oliver Esq. Secy, in Boston. 

[Massachusetts Archives, Lxxvil, 722.] 

To His Excellency Thomas Poivnall Esq. . . . Dec. 29, 1758. 

The Pettition of Phinias Wilder of Lancaster Huuibley shewing 
that he Inlisted himself Into his majesties forces In the Expedition against 
Cannada in 1758 under the Command of Capt. Asa Whitcomb in Coll° 
Bagley's Regiment and was taken sick aboute the first of September last 
with the Camp Distemper with a Grate Dele of Deficultey that I under- 
went by being brought some of the way in a Cart & some of the way by 
water to Green Bush whare I lay^i aboute a fortnight as they tell me I not 
being in a posture to Recolect the time myself and then I was Brought 
part of the way from Green Bush on a horse & part of the way In a horse 
Litter an arived at home but Just in Life & Remained above six wekes 
after I got home the Bigest part of In Dout of Life & the Cost and Charge 
I was at In order to Get home & after I got home amounts to six pounds 

two shillings & five pence as pr. account Phinehas Wilder 

[Massachusetts Archives, Lxxvill, 56.] 

In the same volume as the last are similar petitions from 
John Bailey and Asaph Butler. 

.... The Pettition of Thomas Garey of Lancaster .... Humbly 
Shewing to your Excellency & Honours that his son Jonathan Gary was 
Inlisted soulger under the Comand of Capt. Asa Whitcomb . • . and as 
my said Jonathan was a serving his King & Countrey in ye Expedition 
against Cannada he was taken sick at Lake George & was Brought in a Cart 
or wagon as far as the outermost barn in hafe moon & thare sent me a 
Letter earnestly Intreting me to Come or send some bodey to his Relief 
upon which Information I sent a man & Horse with Nesecareys for his 
Relief as soon as possiable I could fix him away but my poor son was Dead 
before my man & horse arived at the hafe moon 

Thomas Geary 

[Massachusetts Archives, Lxxvni, 244.] 



70 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

The pettition of Peter Larkin of Lancaster his 

Brother John Larkin was an Inlisted soulger in the Expedition 

against Cannada in y*' year 1758, under the Comand of Capt. Whitne in y^ 

Regiment of Coll" Bagley my said Brother John was taken sick 

at Lake George but with some help by the Carts & wagons he got Down 
as far as Shefield & could get no farther & sent for me to Come to his 
assistance, accordingly I went to him to Shefield & set out & got him as 
far as Westfield with much a Do & thare taryed with him two or three Days, 
but he being unabele to Travil aney farther I was obliged to Leve him and 
he continued aboute ten or eleven Days & Expired & Died. . . . 

Peter Larkin 

[Massachusetts Archives, LXXVIII, 247.] 

Chaplain John Cleaveland, before mentioned, was the 
intimate friend ot Lieutenant-Colonel John Whitcomb, and 
joint tenant with him of a rude hut in the encampment. 
Cleaveland's diary and that of Surgeon Rea afford pictures 
of the life of the soldiers in the intrenchments upon Lake 
George, detailing the supercilious deportment of the British 
officers, and the jealous dislike of them felt by the New 
England men ; the daily prayers and psalm singing, and 
the Sunday exhortations among the provincials, contrasted 
with the drunkenness, ribaldr}' and profanity of camp ; the 
perpetual delving upon the fortitications ; the court martials 
and infliction of punishments characteristic of rigid military 
discipline. As the autumn days sped, the ill cooked and 
tainted provisions, and the universal tilthiness of the camps 
engendered fevers and dysentery to an alarming extent, 
and the fort became one vast hospital. It would doubtless 
be a harsh judgment, but one can hardly help suspecting, 
reading the diary of tlie pious surgeon in connection with 
the stories of his patients — the sick soldiers already quoted 
— that he interested himself less in his own business than 
in that of the chaplain ; earnest rather to edify spiritually, 
than to apply his energy and skill to the improvement of 
sanitary conditions. In the disaster of Ticonderoga he 
sees the wrath of Providence towards " the horrid cursing 
and swearing there is in ye camp, more especially among 
y*" Regulars. I can't but Charge our defeat on this isin." 
He was tender of heart, however, for he writes : 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 7 1 

Alth° there is almost every day more or less whiped or Piqueted or 
some other ways punished I've never yet had y"^ curiosity to see 'm, the 
shrieks and crys being Satisfactory to me without y" Sight of ye Strokes. 

One bright ray of sunshine reheved the gloom of the 
situation in the West. Lieutenant-Colonel John Bradstreet, 
obtaining the reluctant consent of his superiors, led three 
thousand provincial troops two hundred miles through the 
wilderness to the shore of Ontario, crossed the lake in 
boats, captured the important fort and naval station of 
Frontenac, and destroyed the French fleet. Soon alter, 
General Amherst, with several regiments from Louisbourg, 
reached New York and joined Abercrombie early in Octo- 
ber ; but their jointd eliberations evolved no plan of action 
until the frosts were upon them, and then all that could be 
done was to dismiss the armed yeomanry to their farms, 
and distribute the regulars in their winter quarters. 

The campaign for 1759, as planned by Pitt, contemp- 
lated a direct attack upon Quebec by a select armi of 
English troops commanded by Wolfe, to be seconded b^^^ 
vigorous advance towards Montreal by way of Lake Cham- 
plain. By the end of June Wolfe was planting his batter- , 
ies opposite the Gibraltar of America ; but Amherst 
lingered three weeks later, adding to the superfluous earth- 
works of Fort William Henry, before he ventured upon 
the single day's journey down Lake George to the scene 
of Abercrombie's disgrace the preceding year. The colon- 
ial troops had been long assembled, awaiting orders. 
The following list shows the Lancaster men enrolled in 
March and April : 

Return of the Men en/isted or impressed for his Majesties Service within 
the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in the Regiment whereof Oliver 
Wilder Esq. is Colonel, to be put jcnder the immediate Command of 
His Excellency Jeffrey Amherst Esq. General &= Comtnander iti Chief 
of His Majesties Forces in America for the Invasion of Canada. 

John Willard, Aged 19 

Jona. Hutchins " 20 Served, 1757, at Lake George. 

Robert Phelps " 18 



72 


ANNALS 


OF LANCASTER. 




Jon". Phillips 


Aged 30 


Served 


1755 




W". Perham 


" 34 




Impressed. 




Joseph Turner 


" 16 




'• 




Tho^ Barney 


" 39 




" 




Abner Osgood 


" 20 


" 


1758, at Lake George. 


{Hired.) 


Jon''. Townsend 


" 20 


" 


" 




Mathias Larkin 


" 32 


'« 


" 




John Headley 


" 36 


" 


.. 




Phinehas Baily 


" 18 


>( 


" " «' 




Jotham Wilder 


" 40 








Joshua Proutee 


" 21 


'« 


1758, at Lake George. 




Daniel Allbert, Jr. 


" 28 








Peter Larkin 


" 27 








Frederick Allbert 


" 20 








John Bailey 


" 40 


>i 


1758, at Lake George. 




Jon''. Goodnow 


" 21 








Stephen Kendall 


— 








Sam". Kendall 


" 17 








Levi Kendall 


" 23 


" 


1758, at Lake George. 




Henry Wyman 


" 17 


" 






Joseph Bixpy 


" 18 


" 






Jedediah Cooper 


" 19 


" 






Ephraim Goss 


♦' 26 


" 






John McCarty 


" 25 


>' 






Joseph Squirean 


" 19 


•' 






•Eben^ Pike 


" 32 


•' 






Joseph Bailey 


" 28 


" 






Sam". Goodenow 


" 30 








Daniel Cook 


" 17 








Reuben Walker 


" 19 








John McBride 


" 23 


" 


1758, at Lake George. 




Joseph Stewart 


" 27 


" 


" 


{Hired.) 


John Dunsmoor 


" II 


{Impressed.) 




George Bush, Jr. 


" 37 


" 






John Crosly 


" 36 


{Hired 


) 




James Pratt 


" 20 


Served, 


1758, at Lake George. 




Phinehas Wilder 


" 28 


" 


" 




Isaac Eveleth 


" 24 


" 


" 




Moses Redman 


'• 37 


" 


.. 




Micah Briant 


" 24 


" 


" 


{Hired.) 


Nathaniel Wright 


" 40 








Joseph Turner 


" 16 


{Impressed.) 





CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



73 





HARVARD 


MEN : 




Micah Stone, Aged 24 








Jonathan Peirce ' 


' 23 


Served, 1756, 


at Lake George, 


Jacob Emerson 


' 22 


" 


175S, 


" 


Jacob Harris 


' 18 








William Sanderson 


• 39 








John Houghton, 3d, 


' 24 








Amos Stone 


' 29 








Nathaniel Bray • 


' 22 








Josiah Davis ' 


' 30 








Abraham Whitney ' 


' 51 








David Brown ' 


' 21 


Served, 1758, 


at Lake George. 


Joseph Proctor ' 


' 19 






" •" 


Asahel Nickerson ' 


' 17 








John Conn ' 


' 19 








Jonathan White ' 


' 17 








John Cole ' 


' 18 








Isaac Holden ' 


' 17 








John Daby, Jr. ' 


' 18 








Ephraim Robbins ' 


' 41 








Samuel Whippy ' 


' p 








Samuel Corey ' 


' 42 








John Burt 


' ? 










BOLTON 


MEN : 




Josiah Priest, Ag 


ed 23 


Served, 1758, 


at Lake George. 


Benjamin Marble ' 


' 32 


" 


1755 




Jonathan Holman ' 


« 23 


" 


1758 




Ephraim Ward ' 


' 25 








Josiah Pratt ' 


' 59 


" 


1755 




Joseph Pratt ' 


' 32 


" 


1758 




John Wilder ' 


' 17 


" 


" 




Benoni Bigelow ' 


' 18 


" 


" 




John Wheeler ' 


' 25 


" 


" 




Aholiab Sawyer, Jr. 


' 17 


" 


" 




Jonas Pollard ' 


' 25 








John Pollard 


' 29 








John Townsend ' 


' 17 








Jonas Whitcomb ' 


' 24 


" 


1755 




Dennis Lockling ' 


' 39 


" 


" 




Josiah Moore ' 


' 32 


<( 


(< 





74 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

LEOMINSTER MEN: 

Served, 1758, at Lake George. 

n a n n 

(( (( i( a 

1756 



Asa Butterick, 


Ag 


ed 40 


Joshua Peirce 




' 18 


Abel Wheelock 




' 20 


Benjamin Whitcomb 




' 21 


Joseph Harper 




' 17 


Ebenezer Harris 




' 36 


James Symonds 




' 17 


Rufus Houghton 




' 35 


Elias Carter 




' 21 


Richard Stewart 






Paul Hale 







[Massachusetts Archives, XCVIII, 373.] 

One hundred and forty-two men in all were furnished 
from the Lancaster regiment, those not here given being 
chiefly from Lunenburg. 

Colonel Wilder's account of services rendered as mus- 
tering officer is a curiosity in its way, and is appended 
unabridged : 

Province of the Massachusets Bay Is Dr : 
To one Warrant I Received from his Excellency Governor Pownell Requir- 
ing me to Raise one Hundred and fourtey two men and to apportion them 
as Equaley as I could to and amongst the Respective Companys in my 
Regiment in March the 26, 1759. 
To filling a Leven warrants and sending a Leven expresses to a £ 

Leven Captains. i- 5-0 

To Mustering said 142 men Raised out of my Regiment which s"^ 
servis I attended two Days by Reson of the Captains not 
making their Respective Returns y*^ first Day in seson 0-12-0 

To what Expences I was Nesesaryley at while attending s'^ servis o- 6-0 
To one Days servis more in mustering the other Leveys Raised 

out of my Regiment that went under Coll° Abijah Willard o- 6-0 
To my Expences in said servis o- 3-0 

To one Journey to Boston to Receive the Bountey money for the 

soulgers which toke me thre Days i- 0-0 

To my Expences in said Journey o- 8-0 

To two Days I went to Boston to make Return to the Adjutant 
General of the men I Raised according to the Governor's or- 
der & to Retourn 23 Retournes 0-12-0 
To my Expences said Journey o- 6-0 
To two Days time I was obliged to spend in going over to Wor- 
ster at the Request of the Expedition Captains who could 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



75 



not make up their Billeting Roles without the Listing papers 
which by an unhapey mistake was Never sent to me and I 
having obtained the favour of Coll° Chandler of some Blanck 
Listing papers was first to be at the trouble of Listing the men 
all a new again 0-12-0 

To my Expences on said affair o- 6-0 



/5-16-0 
Oliver Wilder, Colo 
Lancaster, December y'' 27, 1759. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LXXXIX, 432.] 

The above named volunteers were divided between the 
companies of Captains Aaron Willard of Lancaster and 
James Reed of Lunenburg. The former led one hundred 
men, the latter ninety, and both were probably attached to 
the regiment of Colonel Timothy Ruggles, which included 
two battalions. Captain Willard's Lancaster men were : 



Lieut. Jacob Stiles, 
Sergt. Jonathan Hutchins, 

" Peter Willard, 
Benjamin Atherton, 
John Bailey, 

Of Bolton were : 

Sergt. Josiah Moore, 
Benoni Bigelow, 
Jonathan Holman, 
John Law, 
Dennis Locklyne, 

Of Harvard were 

Sergt. John Burt, 
Corpl. Samuel Corey, 
" John Daby, 
Nathaniel Bray, 
David Brown, 
John Cole, 
John Conn. 

Of Leominster 



Thomas Barney, 
John McCarthy, 
Silvanus Johnson, 
Abner Osgood, 
William Perham, 
Robert Phelps. 



Benjamin Marble, 
Jonas Pollard, 
Joseph Pratt, 
Josiah Pratt, 
Josiah Priest. 



Jacob Emerson, 
Jacob Harris, 
Isaac Holden, 
John Houghton, 
Asahel Nickerson, 
Jonathan Pierce, 



Jonathan Phillips, 
Joshua Proutee, 
Moses Redman, 
James Squirean, 
Joseph Turner, 



Edward Roach, 
Aholiab Sawyer, 
Ephraim Ward, 
John Wilder, 



Josiah Proctor, 
Ephraim Harris, 
William Sanderson, 
Micah Stone, 
Samuel Whipy, 
Jonathan White, 



Richard Stewart. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcvii, 398.] 



76 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Captain James Reed's Lancaster men were 



Lieut. Til'ey Wilder, 
Sergt. Joseph Bailey, 
Daniel Albert, 
Frederick Albert, 
Phineas Bailey, 
Joseph Bixby, 
Micah Bryant, 
George Bush ^d/ed^, 
Daniel Cook, 
John Dunsmore, 



Isaac Eveleth, 
Jonathan Goodenough, 
Samuel Goodenough, 
John Headley, 
Levi Kendall, 
Samuel Kendall, 
Stephen Kendall [didd^, 
Peter Larkin, 
Mathias Larkin, 
William Lee, 



Of Leominster were : 



John McBride, 
Joshua Peirce, 
Ebenezer Pike, 
James Pratt, 
Joseph Stewart, 
Jonathan Townsend, 
Reuben Walker [died^, 
Jotham Wilder, 
Phineas Wilder, 
Henry Wyman. 



Benjamin Whitcomb. 



Asa Buttrick, Joseph Harper, 

Jonathan Grout, Ebenezer Harris, 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcvil, 310.] 

Samuel Kendall and John Headh^ presented petitions to 
the General Court for help, which are preserved in Massa- 
chusetts Archives, lxxix, 147 and 322. 

The regiment of Colonel Abijah Willard contained 
eighteen companies, coming from all parts of the common- 
wealth. The complement of each company was fifty, rank 
and file. 

A Roll of the Field &^ iitaff Officers in His Majestie's Service of a Regi- 
ment whereof Abijali IVillard Esq. is Colonel. [April 17 to Decem- 
ber 30, I759-] 

Abijah Willard, Esq., Colonel, Lancaster. 
Stephen Miller, Esq., Lieutenant-Colonel, Milton. 
Richard Godfrey, Major, Taunton. 
Caleb Willard, Major, Lunenburg. 
Cyrus Fairbanks, Adjutant, Lancaster. 
Manassah Divol, Quartermaster, Lancaster. 
William Crawford, Chaplain, Worcester. 
John Taylor, Chief Surgeon, Harvard. 
John Tappan, Surgeon''s Mate, Newbury. 
John Preston, do. Harvard. 

Jonathan Bowman, Commissary, Dorchester, 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcvii, 372.] 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



77 



Captain Benjamin Hastings led a company in Willard's 
regiment. These men of Lancaster were in his command ; 



Lieut. Thomas Beaman, 
2d Lieut. Manasseh Divoil, 
Sergt. John Warner, 

" Paul Richardson, 

" Levi Woods, 



Joshua Baily, 
Benjamin Chase, 
Nathan Eager, 
Ephraim Goss, 
Thomas Henderson, 



Jonathan Kendall, 
Josiah Prentice, 
Joseph Priest, 
Nathan Puslia, 
Jeremiah Stewart, 



Corpl. Ebenezer Knight, Nahum Houghton, Jonatlian Wheelock, 



Drummer Levi Divoil, 



Joshua Johnson, 



These were of Bolton : 

Capt. Benjamin Hastings, Cyrus Houghton, 
Corpl. John Richardson, Francis McFadden, 

Ephraim Butler, Andrew McElwain, 

These were of Harvard : 



Jason Wyman. 



James Townsend, 
David Whitcomb, 
Ezra Wilder. 



Jonathan Gates, 
Elias Haskell, 



Ambrose Hale, 
Gordon Hutchins, 



David Taylor. 



Of Leominster, was Ebenezer Rice. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCVll, 389.] 

Thomas Beaman succeeded to the command of the 
company in September. John Warner was promoted to be 
ensign in the company of Captain Ehjah Smith, and Peter 
Willard to be ensign in Captain William Ba^-ley's company. 

Under Captain Thomas Cobb of the same regiment 
were Joshua Mosman, Samuel Mosman and Asa Rugg of 
Lancaster. Samuel Woods, according to the Lancaster 
church records, was " Killed by ye Enemy" this year. 

The orderly book of Colonel Willard unfortunately 
closes July 17, four days before the movement upon Ticon- 
deroga began. His first regimental orders are dated June 
26, at camp near Fort Edward : 

It is my Order that the Commanding officer of Each Company See 
that their orderly Sergeants turn out their Companies to Prayers every 
morning by Six o Clock and by Seven in the Evening; and every Captain 
with his officers to lead their Companies on the Perade themselves and 
also to see that every man appears on the Perade for Guard that they are 
Clean and Soldierlike ; and also that the officers appear in Camp like Gen- 
tlemen officers, for I observe that they are very Negligent in their Dress 
and that the officers of my Regiment Put off their Highland 



78 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Caps, for it is Disagreeable to the Commanding officer \_Mofitgofnery, col- 
onel of the Royal Highlajiders'] now at Fort Edward. 

Lemuel Wood of Boxford, who served in Captain Fran- 
cis Peabody's company of Willard's regiment during the 
campaigns of 1759 ^^^ 17^0' kept a diary which has been 
published in the Essex Institute Collections, xix. He re- 
cords that ''it Came out in orders that no Officer in 

ye Regiment should wear a Scotch bonnet." Generally 
the officers only in provincial regiments were uniformed. 
They usually appeared in blue coats faced with red, but 
dress for the most part was left to individual taste and con- 
venience. From orderly book and diary we learn that in 
camp at Lake George, throughout June and July, the troops 
were kept constantly drilling, and practice in firing was 
daily exacted. Frequent courts-martial were summoned 
and fearful sentences were imposed upon those found guilty 
of grave military crimes. " One thousand lashes with a 
cat of nine tails" was one punishment for desertion, 
although executions for this offence took place, the whole 
army being drawn up to witness the dismal ceremony. 
Wood relates that "two sargants .... for not going to hear 
Prayers .... were sentenced to y*^ ranks " by Colonel 
Willard ; but were subsequently pardoned. Captain Ben- 
jamin Hastings of Bolton was during September "Dismessed 
ye Servis with Desgrace" for mutinous behavior. Abra- 
ham Austin, "Capt of the waggons," being convicted of 
stealing some tools, was condemned .... 

to Receive tliirty six lashes with a Cat of nine tails at the head of Each of 
the four Regular Battallions and the seven Provinciall Regimt\ in Camp, 
Beginning with Forb's and Ending with Scuyler's, and be then turned out 
of Camp and Deemed unworthy of ever Serving in the Army again. 

Ten teamsters who connived at the same theft were or- 
dered to be ... . 

marched Round the Camp, and see the Punishment above on Austin, and 
they all to be marched Back to Saratoga, from thence to Bring the tools 
that ware stolen Back together. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 79 

Colonel Willard, by the evidence of his regimental or- 
ders, appears an energetic, soldierly officer, exacting firmly 
every military duty, but diligently caring for the well-being 
of his men. He turned the captains out to drill their com- 
panies in platoon exercise at five o'clock in the morning, 
and had all the officers exercised in the same manner by 
the senior captains twice daily. He orders : 

That every Tent shall have one side Turned up every Fair Day from 

Eight in the morning untill ten it being much for the health of 

the men. Likewise that every sick man have his hands, feet and leggs 
washed in warm water, and carefully dryed every other Day. 

Amherst's immobility already argued ill for any aid from 
his column to Wolfe. At the advance, finally begun July 
21, Ticonderoga and Crown Point fell with only the pre- 
tence of contest, as they probably would have done had 
the movement been made a month earlier. Niagara had 
already been surrendered to Sir William Johnson. Instead 
of pushing northward on Lake Champlain at once, Am- 
herst now set about rebuilding the captured forts, construct- 
ing roadways to them from various points, and planning a 
navy. Regardless of the positive orders of Pitt, while 
Wolfe was daring impossibilities, Amherst resolved to take 
no risks. The glory of Wolfe was the greater, and all 
New England, in the general thanksgiving for his victory 
at Qiiebec, mourned him as their benefactor. It was not 
until the middle of October that the newly built fleet cleared 
Lake Champlain of the French. Soon the wintry frosts 
had sealed the northern waters, and Colonel Willard, with 
his townsmen, vvere again by their own firesides, relating 
to interested listeners their varied experiences upon the 
frontier, and preparing for the final campaign of 1760. 

The enlistments recorded for Lancaster in the spring 
months of the next year, as found in Massachusetts Ar- 
chives, xcviii, are : 

John Years, a^edzg {a Frenchman) . Moses Redman, aged ^7 {Irish). 
Joseph Farrar, " 17 John McCarty, " 29 

Nathan Farrar, " 18 James Squirean, •' 22 



8o 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Oliver Power, a^ed i8 Michael McLong, a^ed 24 

John Prentice, " 19 Richard Wiles, " 49 

Josiah Prentice, " 18 Benj. Houghton, " 20 

Stephen Foster, " 30 Ephraim Goss, " 26 

Nathan Turner, " 23 

These were, however, not a fifth part of the town's sol- 
diers actually in service. Colonel Abijah Willard again 
led his regiment to the front, having the same staff, except 
that John Miller of Milton acted as chaplain, and Samuel 
Ward, of Worcester, later to become an honored citizen of 
Lancaster, served as adjutant. One company was chiefly 
of Lancaster and adjacent towns, and served from April to 
December. Levi Willard is recorded as "sutler" of the 
regiment. The Lancaster soldiers of Captain Beaman's 
company were : 



Captain Thomas Beaman, 
Lieut. Sherebiah Hunt, 
Sergt. Daniel Warner, 
Corporal Nathan Gary, 



Daniel Cook, 
James Crosfield, 
Isaac Eveleth, 
Thomas Fairbanks, 



Drummer Ephraim Fairbanks, Phineas Goodell, 



Benjamin Atherton, 
Charles Beamis. 
Joseph IMgsbey, 
Jedediah Blaney, 
William Brown, 
John Burroughs, 

Of Leominster were 

Sergt. Benjamin Whitcomb, 
Corponil John Beaman, 
Simeon Butler, 

Of Bolton were : 

Sergt. Benoni Bigelow, 
Jonadab Moore, 

Of Harvard were : 



Thomas Henderson, 
John Lock, 
Joshua Peirce, 
Ethan Phillips, 
Amos Powers, 
Benjamin Priest, 



Asa Buttrick, 
Francis Corey, 
Joseph Daby, 



Andrew McElwain, 
Francis AIcFadden, 
Richard Roberts, 



Sergt. Caleb Wright, 
David Dickenson, 



John Richardson, 
Paul Richardson, 
Isaac Sollendine, 
Richard Stewart, 
David Wilder, 
Ezra Wilder, 
Nahum Wilder, 
James Willard, 
Levi Woods, 
Henry Wyman. 



Jonathan Kendall, 
John White, 
Josiah White. 



Ezekiel Snow, 
Benjamin Townsend. 



Benjamin Whittemore. 



Solomon Haskell, 
Peter Snow [^//>c/], 

Rufus Putnam, who became a brigadier-general and the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 8 1 



chief engineer of the patriot army in the revolution, was 
ensign of Captain Beaman's company. 

Daniel Stone of Lancaster served in the company of 
Captain Timothy Hamant, and in Captain Richard Svkes' 
company there were of Lancaster : 

Lieut. Frederick Howe, Nathaniel Gates, Jacob Williams. 

Abel Farnsworth, Robert Spear, 

James Burt of Harvard and Henry Dunn of Bolton 
served under the same captain. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcA'iir, 280; 312.] 

Colonel Ruggles, as brigadier, commanded the five 
Massachusetts regiments. In his own regiment were two 
battalions, and in these probably served the following men ; 
the company rolls give no clue to their regimental organi- 
zation. Of Lancaster : 

Captain Aaron Willard, Sergt. Josiah Prentice [d/ed^, Silvanus Johnson. 
Lieut. Jacob Stiles, 

In Captain Willard's company there were from Harvard : 

Timothy Bowers, Stephen Gates, Asahel Nickerson. 

Silas Corey, Maximilian Jewett, 

Of Leominster : 

Edward Kendall, Samuel Rogers, Jeremiah Stearns. 

David Robbins. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcviii, 228.389.] 

Under Captain James Reid of Lunenburg were of Lan- 
caster : 

Ephraim Carter, Jr., Jedediah Cooper, Daniel Johnson, 

Jonas Carter, David Dufore, Henry Wyman. 

Thomas Henderson, 

Of Leominster : 

Joseph Harper, Edward Joyner, Richard Stewart. 

[Massachusetts Archives, XC\'III, 339.] 

With Captain Jonathan Butterfield were of Lancaster : 

Benjamin Houghton, Edward Robbins, Joseph Robbins. 

Of Bolton : Ephraim Goss. 



82 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Of Harvard ; 

Silas Farnsworth, Jabez Keep, Coleman Sanderson, 

Uriah Holt, Jonathan Reed, John Sanderson. 

Of Leominster were : 

Barzillai Moore, Abijah Sawyer. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcviil, 307-9.] 

With Captain William Barron of Concord were eight 

Lancaster men : 

Stephen Foster, Moses Redman, Jos. Turner, 

John McCarthy, James Squirean, John Years. 

John Prentice, Nat. Turner, 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCVIII, 254-5.] 

Colonel John Whitcomb's regiment, of eighteen com- 
panies, served in the campaign of 1760, and in it were a 
few men of Lancaster. In the Southboro' company of 
Captain Nathaniel Brigham were : 

Lieut. Ephraim Sawyer, Obediah Gross, 

Levi Divol, Joseph Stewart \droiV7ied Aug. 14]. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcviii, 287.] 

With Captain William Williams of Marlborough were : 

Lieut. Henry Haskell, Amos Atherton, Joseph Woods, 

Corporal Joshua Johnson, Daniel Johnson, Jasher Wyman. 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcviti, 291.] 

With Captain Jonathan Rolfe were of Bolton : 

Ensign Joseph Hendrick, Robert Holdea, Thomas Mears, 

Sergt. John Barnard, Matthias Larkin, James Townsend. 

Obediah Gill, Robert Longley, 

[Massachusetts Archives, xcviii, 247-8.] 

In other companies were of Lancaster : 

Ensign Josiah Locke, John Hinds, Robert Phelps, 

John Bailey, Nathaniel Jones, Caleb Sawyer, 

Gershom Flagg, Levi Kendall, Josiah White. 

Josiah Flagg, 

[Colonel Whitcomb's Orderly Book, and Massachusetts Archives, XCVili, 231, 248, 
287,291,323.] 

During winter and spring and suinmer General Amherst 
studied over and elaborated the plan of a combined move- 
ment by all his forces upon Montreal ; the very method by 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 83 

which an able general would have swept the French power 
from Canada the preceding autumn. It was the tenth of 
August before the main army at Oswego, and Colonel 
William Haviland's force at Crown Point, began the ad- 
vance. From Colonel Whitcomb's orderly book we learn 
that his own and the regiments of Colonels Willard and 
Ruggles, under Haviland, proceeded leisurely down Lake 
Champlain in batteaux. On the sixteenth the expedition 
landed on the east side of the River St. Johns, near the 
Isle aux Noix, and Colonel Whitcomb was ordered to 
throw up works under the direction of the engineers for the 
protection of the fleet of batteaux, while the rest of the 
army moved to the siege of the island which had long been 
fortified. On the morning of the twenty-eighth it was dis- 
covered that the enemy had evacuated their works and fled 
in the night through the swamps. Quickly pursuing, Col- 
onel Haviland issued the following order on arrival at 
Therese : 

As the army is now going into the inhabitable part of the Country, 
therefore it is ordered that none of the inhabitants are plundered or ill used 
on any pretence. Whosoever is detected disobeying these orders will be 
hanged. Milk, Butter or Provisions, or anything else must be regularly 
paid for ; this to induce the inhabitants to stay in their villages, as good 
usage will prevent their men from joining the French army. 

It was much to expect of the men of New Hampshire 
and Massachusetts, almost every one of whom had rank- 
ling recollections of loss by some bloody raid of demons 
who spared neither age nor sex, that they should enter as 
conquerors the territory of those who had for years insti- 
gated their merciless spoilers, without exhibiting great ex- 
ultation, and at least an inclination towards retaliation. It 
speaks well for these Protestant soldiers quartered in the 
hamlets of their priest-ridden and treacherous enemies, 
that on September 7th they should hear read upon parade 
these words : 

It gives Coll. Haviland pleasure to find the troops under his command 
have so strictly complied with his orders of the 31 of August, with respect 



84 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

of not plundering the inhabitants and paying for such things as they get 
from them. It is obvious to every one the good effects it has had on many. 
Hundreds have delivered themselves up here and at Chambly 

On the eighth General Amherst announced in general 
orders : 

.... The Marquis Vaudreuil has capitulated. The troops of France 
in Canada have laid down their arms and are not to serve during the war. 
The whole country submits to the Dominion of Great Britain. 

On the tenth, the Massachusetts men were marching 
back to Crown Point, and there for the next two months 
they were busily employed in extending and completing 
fortifications and barracks. The orders recorded relate 
chiefly to guard, fatigue duty, sick call, and rations — the 
humdrum routine of ordinary camp life. There was, how- 
ever, one variation which to the soldier of today would be 
a novelty, thus set forth in special orders : 

Spruce Beer will be served out from Brewing, from 6 to 8 O clock 
Daily which is to be paid for as usual. 

The price of this aromatic but not too exhilarating bev- 
erage was one half-penny per quart, and its use throughout 
the army was greatly favored for its supposed tonic value. 
It could not alleviate homesickness, however, and the patri- 
otic yeomanry, now that the purpose of their enlistment 
was accomplished, could see no need for their further de- 
tention in the western wilderness. A grumbling discontent 
became epidemic, and a few left for home without leave. 
In November the veteran Colonels Willard and Whitcomb 
marched their regiments through the woods across Ver- 
mont to Charlestown Number Four, and thence to Lancas- 
ter, where they arrived about December i. The jubilation 
at their return we must imagine, for no gossip of the period 
has preserved any notes of the joyous event for us. More 
than a month before, however, the ministers from their pul- 
pits had voiced the universal joy of victory, and these are 
some of the utterances heard in Lancaster : 

Could we have thought, some years since, that we should at this Time, 
have celebrated a Thanksgiving for the entire Reduction of Canada, the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 85 

compleat Conquest of the Country of our ancient, inveterate and restless 
enemies? the Source of most of our Wars and Troubles with the Natives, 
and the perpetual Impediment to our Settlements and the Inlaro;ement of 
our Territories? the Occasion of so much 131oodshed, Murder, Massacre, 
Grief for butchered captivated Relatives. Impoverishment of Families, 
Desolation of Towns, Fears, Alarms, and endless Expence and Damage? 
.... The war with us has lasted six years ; Three of them Years of 
Prosperity and Plenty ; and three of them Years of Rebuke, Misfortune 
and Drought Our late decisive Victories and valuable Acquisi- 
tions have not been purchased with a Song, though they occasion Joy and 
Singing. They have been obtained at the Expence of much Blood and 
Treasure. Many a precious Life has been sacrificed to these glorious 
Atchievements. Brave Generals and noble Lords, accomplished Officers, 
and great numbers of fine soldiers, have laid down their Lives. Many of 
the British Troops and Provincial Volunteers have fallen in Battle, and 
died in the Bed of Honour. Many who could not be otherwise conquered 
have been overcome by Disease and expired in fatal Hospitals. What year 
can be mentioned that has not sifted out some of the Flower of our Towns, 
and thinned our religious Assemblies? Here ■a. father has Sacrificed a son ; 
there another his First-born ; one mourns tiie Loss of a Father, another a 
Brother, and the veiled Widows cloathed in Sackcloth, have come forth in 

a yearly succe.ssion. 

[Rev''. John Mellens Sermon, October 9, 1760.] 

In the appendix to his sermon, Mr. Mellen records the 
names of nineteen men belonging to his parish who lost 
their lives during the war. These will be found scattered 
through previous pages in their proper commands, but the 
list, which it would seem was intended to be arranged in 
the order of the soldiers" deaths, will be given with the ad- 
dition of dates : 

Samuel Fairbanks, killed Sept. 8, 1755. William Brabrook, missing 1758. 

William Fairbanks, " " Ebenezer Bigelow, died " 

Isaac Kendall, " " Sergt. Jacob Smith, " " 

Ithamar Bennett, " " Jonathan Geary, died Sept. " 

Lt.HezekiahWhitcomb, died, 1755 Philip Geno. died •' 

John Whitcomb, " " Reuben Walker, " 1760 

Jacob Glazier, " " Stephen Kendall, " " 

Simon Kendall, " 1758. George Bush, Jr., " " 

John Farrar, " 1756. Joseph Steward, 

Jeremiah Dickenson, " " drowned Aug. 14, " 

Unfortunately, no similar contemporary statement of the 
loss in the First parish exists. The following list, doubt- 



86 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



less a very imperfect one, contains all deaths found any- 
where recorded : 

Oliver Osgood, killed September 8, 1755. 
John Rugg, " " 

Joseph Robbins, Jr., " " 

Josiah Pratt, Jr., " " 

Phineas Randall, " " 

Peter Kendall, 

David Atherton, died May 2, " 

Col. Samuel Willard, died October, " 

Sergt. James Houghton, died Oct. 21, " 
William Hudson, killed in Acadia, " 

Andrew Goodfry, died 1756. 
John Larkin, " 1758. 

Samuel Woods, killed 1759. 
Sergt. Josiah Prentice, died 1760. 

The two years that followed before the treaty of Paris 
confirmed to England the fruits of the conquest of Canada, 
were years of peace to the colonies, but the forts at Halifax 
and Crown Point were garrisoned by New England men. 
Those of Lancaster serving on the western frontier in 1761 
and 1762, under Colonel Richard Salstonstall, were : 



Joseph Bixby, 

Josiah Brown, 

Nathaniel Gates, dnci/imer, 

Stephen Gates, 

George Hadley, 

John Hadley, 

John Hadley, Jr., 

Jeremiah Haskell, 

Of Bolton were : 

Thomas Barney, 
Ephraim Butler, 

Of Harvard were : 

James Burt, 
Silas Corey, 
Thomas Daby, 
Abel Farnsworth, 



Abner Hibera, 
Dole Johnson, 
Joshua Johnson, 
Simeon Johnson, 
Aaron Kilburn, 
Isaac Kilburn, 
Matthias Larkin, 
Jonathan Lawrence, 



Joseph Pratt, 
Ezekiel Snow, 



Samuel Fellows, 
Jacob Harris, 
Uriah Holt, 
James Reed, 



Timothy Powers, 
Benjamin Priest, 
Richard Prouty, Jr., 
Benjamin Spaulding, 
David Stimpson, 
John Sulandine, 
Oliver Wilder, Jr., 
Jacob Winn, 
Henry Wyman. 

Josiah Wood. 



Ephraim Stone, 
Paul Willard, 
Abijah Worster, 
Samuel Worster, 
Thomas Wright. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



87 



Of Leominster 

Jedediah Cooper, 
Joshua Johnson, 



Edward Joyner, 
John Rowe, 



Abijah Smith, 
Asa Smith, 
Elijah Wheelock. 



At Halifax, with Captains James Reed and Edmund 
Lawrence, were of Lancaster : 



Josiah Brown, 
Jonas Carter, 
David Dufore, 
Levi Divoll, 
Isaac Eveleth, 



Thomas Henderson, 
Joseph Jewett, 
Daniel Johnson, 
Ephraim Moore, 
Abner Osgood, 



Of Harvard were : 

Abijah Cole, 
Stephen Gates, 



Jonas Pollard, 
William Swan, 
Elijah Woods, 
Abijah Wyman, 
Jasher Wyman. 



Paul Willard. 



Stephen Gates, Jr., 
John Harper, 

[Massachusetts Archives, XCix.] 



The second regiment of militia in Worcester county, 
known as the Lancaster Regiment, at this period was or- 
ganized as follows : 

Joseph Wilder, Esq., Col'', and Capt. of the first company in the Town of 

Lancaster. 
Peter Atherton, Esq., Lt. Col" and Capt. of the first company in the Town 

of Harvard. 
John Carter, Major & Capt. of second company in the Town of Lancaster. 



Lancaster i^i. Co. 
James Wilder, capt.-heut. 
John White, id lieiit. 
Joseph White, ensign. 

Lancaster yi. Co. 
Caleb Wilder, capt. 
Nathll Sawyer, lieiit. 
Josiah Ballard, ensign. 

Lunenburg i^i Co. 
Benjamin Goodridge, capt. 
George Kemball, i^i lieut. 
David Goodridge, 2<^ lieut. 
Joseph Hartwell, etisign. 



Lancaster 2d. Co. 
Elisha Sawyer, \si lieut. 
Elijah Houghton, 2d lieut. 
Tilley Moore, ensign. 

Lancaster Troop. 
Hezekiah Gates, capt. 
Nath'. Willson, lieut. 
Jona. Wilder, cornet. 
James Carter, quartermaster. 

Lunenburg 2d. Co. 
Jonathan Wood, capt. 
Josiah Bailey, lieut. 
John Buss, ensign. 



88 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Harva7'd \st. Co. 
Joseph Fairbank, Jr., capt. lie/it. 
Benjamin Stow, Iieiit. 
Peter Atherton, Jr., ensign. 

Bolton Co. 
Samuel Baker, capt. 
Oliver Barrett, lieict. 
William Wilder, ensign. 

IVestiniiister Co. 

Nicholas Dike, capt. 
Benja Butterfield, lient. 
John Woodward, ensign. 



Harvard 2^. Co. 
Phineas Fairbank. capt. 
Jerem. Laughton, lieiit. 
Jason Russell, ensign. 

Leoj/iinster Co. 
Benjamin Whitcomb, capt. 
Jona". Carter, lieiit. 
Oliver Hale, ensign. 

Moses Wilder. 



Adjutant, 

[Massachusetts Arcliives, xcviii.] 

In 1766, John Carter had become colonel of the regi- 
ment ; Caleb Wilder was lieutenant-colonel, and James 
Wilder and Levi Willard, majors. A Fitchburg company 
had been added, and in 1767, a second Bolton, a second 
Leominster and a fourth Lancaster company appear. In 
1771, Caleb Wilder was colonel ; Levi Willar^,lieutenant- 
colonel ; James Richardson and Gardner Wilder, maj'ors. 
The regiment at that time consisted of sixteen infantry 
companies and two troops, as follow : Lancaster, four 
companie.s ; Lunenburg, two ; Harvard, two ; Bolton, two ; 
Leominster, two : Westminster, two ; Fitchburg, one ; Ash- 
burnham, one. The first troop was from Lancaster, Har- 
vard and Bolton ; the second from Lunenburg, Leominster 
and Fitchburg. 

The Lancaster companies were officered thus in 1771 : 
p'. Company. 

Nathaniel White, capt. 
William Phelps, lieut. 
Hooker Osgood, ensign. 

2d. Company. 



Ephraim Wilder, capt. 
Samuel Prentice, h^. liejit. 
Thomas Gary, Jr., zd li^nt. 
Jona. O.sgood, ensign. 



2,d. Company. 
Samuel Ward, capt. 
Ephraim Carter, lieut. 
Moses Smith, 2^. lieut. 
Phineas Houghton, ensign. 

i^th_ Company. 
Daniel Robbins, capt. 
Enoch Gerrish, lieiit. 
Asa Wilder, ensign. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 89 

« . _ 

Troop. 
James Carter, capt. 
Jeremiah Burpee, lieut. 
Elijah Sawyer, 2^. lieut. 
Thomas Gates, cornet. 
Elijah Houghton, qnarterviaster. 

Three years later, obedient to the demands of the county 
convention, these officers all resigned their commissions, 
and, in the new elections, men perhaps younger or more in 
accord with the fevered political sentiment of the day took 
their places. It is certain not one of the above entered the 
continental service, and but three of them appear in the 
rolls of the Lexington Alarm. 



IV. 
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 



I. FROM TOWN-MEETING TO CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

"The voice of Otis and of Adams in Faneuil Hall, found its full and 
true echo in the little councils of the interior towns : and, if within the 
Continental Congress patriotism shone more conspicuously, it did not 
there exist more truly, nor burn more fervently ; it did not render the day 
more anxious, nor the night more sleepless ; it sent up no more ardent 
prayer to God for succor; and it put forth in no greater degree the fulness 
of its effort, and the energy of its whole soul and spirit, in the common 
cause, than it did in the small assemblies of the towns." 

[Daniel Webster, in the Massachusetts Convention of 1820.] 

The pastor of the second parish in Lancaster, John 
Mellen, printed a sermon, "preached .... October 9, 1760, 
on the General Thanksgiving for the Reduction of Mon- 
treal and Total Conquest of Canada," in which he raptur- 
ously predicts the glorious future awaiting the English 
colonies forever relieved from the machinations of papists 
and the terrors of French invasion. He estimates the pop- 
ulation of these colonies at that time to be one million, 
and foresees that, by the ordinary rate cf increase, "one 
century and a half will people the British Empire in Amer- 
ica with upwards of Sixty Million Souls." This vision of 
one wiser than most of his generation is now more than 
realized. But even his clear prophetic sight probably 
caught no glimpse of the great political changes that hinged 
upon the expulsion of the Bourbons from Canada ; nor 
could he have dreamed that the long struggle then just 
closed was but the first act of a revolution which was to 
bind thirteen weak and jealous colonies, widely separated 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 9I 

not more by distance than by historic and religious sympa- 
thies, into a stable, independent republic, soon to become 
the mightiest in the history of governments. 

New England, in lavishly expending blood and treasure, 
ostensibly for the aggrandizement of George II, was edu- 
cating herself in warlike arts and self reliance to throw off, 
when the times grew ripe, all allegiance to kings ; and the 
more southern provinces, especially Virginia, were fitting 
themselves to follow. Massachusetts had always led in the 
contest. One man out of her every four able for service 
was kept in the ranks of the provincial regiments, equipped, 
fed and paid from the colonial treasury. When in 1760 
the Crown re-imbursed the colonies in the sum of two hun- 
dred thousand pounds, allotting each a share proportionate 
to its contributions for the common cause, three-tenths fell 
to Massachusetts. Lancaster had not been behind her sis- 
ter towns in sacrifice. 

The distracted country was stained along its inland bor- 
ders, from the river Ohio to Nova Scotia, with the blood of 
helpless women and children, as well as brave men, sav- 
agely slain. Peace had come at last ; plenteous harvests 
had been gathered from the rich soil, and safely housed. 
With reason the hearts of all throughout the land went up 
in thanksgiving. But below the surface of joyous calm 
slept the elements of a greater explosion of popular will 
than any yet seen upon this continent, waiting only the ex- 
cuse of some petty tax, some nagging encroachments upon 
chartered privilege, to begin a new chapter in the history 
of mankind. Until the occasion should arrive, the inspired 
leader was waiting ready. lie had passed through the 
stern preparatory lessons for his heaven-appointed task in 
the wilds of Pennsylvania and Virginia. In every town 
were men clad in homespun and busy in shop, at trade, or 
on the farm, who had led regiments or commanded com- 
panies under Winslow, Loudoun, Abercrombie, and Am- 
herst. Few of these but had rankling memories of super- 



92 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

cilious insolence received from the gorgeously accoutred 
officers of the royal troops, — whose contemptuous assump- 
tion of superiority was rarely based upon campaign expe- 
rience or personal worth, but begot of insular pride, fostered 
by martinet discipline, and supported by parliamentary 
regulations which ranked the king's above the provincial 
commission, regardless of precedence in date. 

Among other causes of disaffection in Massachusetts 
was the hereditary rage of Puritanism against prelacy, 
which, though soon hidden from sight in the smoke of 
actual conflict, was none the less pervasive and powerful. 
But in this the yeomanry had become more radical than 
the clergy. A schism in the little Bolton church grew, 
during 1774, into a controversy so bitter that it seriously 
shook the pulpits in all the neighboring parishes. This, 
widely known as the Goss and Walley war, finally turned 
upon the question of the churches' independence of cleri- 
cal councils. The ministers were united under the leader- 
ship of Reverend Zabdiel Adams, who won the sobriquet, 
"Bishop of Lunenburg;" while it is noteworthy that the 
most prominent among their opponents were the men soon 
to become the military and legislative leaders of the com- 
munity in political rebellion — the Whitcombs, Fairbank 
and Dr. Dunsmoor. 

Little more than four months had passed since the thanks- 
giving day, on which, from hundreds of pulpits, there had 
issued a flood of loyal declamation adulatory of "his gra- 
cious majesty King George II," when James Otis, advocat- 
ing the peoples' privilege, inveighed with fiery eloquence 
in open court against the arbitrary and restrictive commer- 
cial policy adopted by the ministry of George III. And 
speedily, like an echo of the bold utterances of Otis, there 
came from aristocratic Virginia the voice of the plebeian 
lawyer, Patrick Henry, proclaiming that even the divine 
right of an anointed king is naught if not used solely for 
the good and by the consent of the governed. 



THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 93 

The Stamp Act struck like a stunning blow, and loyalty 
seemed to many no longer compatible with patriotism. 
Hastened by the heat of just wrath, remonstrance scorned 
was fast ripening into revolt. Yet revolt against so power- 
ful an oppressor, however well justified, seemed to the 
sober-minded hopeless ; and hopeless it was without unan- 
imity, long and secret preparation, and external aid. The 
repeal of the stamp act availed to quiet the other colonies, 
but not Massachusetts. Here the public heart was fired 
with patriotic frenzy, and would not be restrained. Any 
suggestion of a temporizing policy met with contempt. 
Liberty poles were raised in every village. At every new 
attempt to enforce royal prerogative the spirit of resistance 
became more outspoken and determined, and the materials 
of revolution, everywhere abundant, began to flame. Pur- 
itanism personified in Samuel Adams, recognized the exi- 
gency and shrewdly organized rebellion by inspiring the 
Committees of Correspondence with courage and enthusi- 
asm. The newspaper suddenly rose to great political 
power in the land. The Massachusetts town-meeting 
became at length the arena where were rehearsed the dra- 
matic scenes soon to be enacted by the various provincial 
congresses. In the town-meeting, the village orator found 
and improved his opportunity ; the local demagogue and 
radical stirred the passions of the people ; but the old men, 
the captains and colonels scarred in conquest of Canada, 
delayed rash action by their conservative counsel, weighty 
with the teachings of experience. Among the most hon- 
orable pages in the records of Lancaster, is that upon 
which are engrossed the liberty-breathing resolutions 
passed in town-meeting the first month of 1773 ; resolu- 
tions boldly protesting against the attempted encroachments 
of the Crown upon the constitutional freedom of the Prov- 
ince, and demanding "radical redress of grievances;" res- 
olutions anticipating in nobly simple phrase, by three and 
one-half years, the grandest sentiments of the Declaration 
of Independence. 



94 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

A warrant for a Town meeting ye first Wednesday of fan. 1773. 

Worcester, ss. To the freeholders and other Inhabitants of the town of 
Lancaster legally qualified to vote in town affaiers, Greeting : 

In his majestie's name you are- hereby requierd to meet at the meeting- 
house in the second precinct in Lancaster on the first Wednesday in Janu- 
ary Next at Ten of the Clock in the forenoon then and there to act on the 
Following articles viz : 

I'y. To chuse a moderator for the goverment of s'^ meeting. 

2'1'y. To take into consideration the Dangerous condition of our Pub- 
lick aflfaiers in Perticular the Independancy of our Superiour Judges and 
take such measures as shall then be thought proper. 

3'"y. To chuse a Committee to Draw up our greveances and Infringe- 
ments upon our Liberties and to Lay them before the Town when the Town 
shall so order. 

4iy. To consider and act upon the Request from Boston Committee. 

5'y. To give to our Representative such Instructions as the Town 
shall think proper Relative to our Priveledges. 

6'y. To Chuse a Committee to return an answer to Boston Committee 
and to correspond with aney other Committee Relateing to our priveledge 
and to Inform the Town of their Transactions from time to time. 

7'y. To act and do any thing that the Town shall see proper to with- 
stand the Preasent Progress of our Enemies in Indevering to take away 
our Priveledges. 

Dated at Lancaster Decern'"' 22"^ 1772, and in the Thirteenth Year of 
his majestie's Reign. 

By order of the selectmen. 

Entred by Daniel Robbins, Town Clerk. 

At the meeting thus summoned, Deacon Oliver Moore 
was chosen moderator, and a committee of seven, elected 
under article third, consisting of Doctor William Dunsmoor, 
John Prescott, Aaron Sawyer, Josiah Kendall, Joseph 
White, Nathaniel Wyman and Ebenezer Allen, were in- 
structed to report on Tuesday, the nineteenth of January, 
to which date the meeting was adjourned. It is worthy of 
note that the first three named upon this committee could 
claim inheritance of the blood of John Prescott, the foun- 
der of Lancaster, and they proved themselves inheritors of 
his brave, independent spirit. On the appointed day, the 
town, at the meeting-house in the first precinct, voted to 
hear the report of the committee, to report the town's doings 



ACTION IN TOWN-MEETING. 95 

to the Boston committee, and to instruct their representative 
at General Court. Both resolves and instructions were 
published in the Boston Gazette for May 17, 1773 : 

At a legal Meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town 
of Lancaster, by Adjournment. 
The Committee appointed by the Town to take into Consideration the 
State of publick Affairs beg leave to report the following Resolves and 
Instructions : 

1. Resolved, That this and every other Town in this Province have 
an undoubted Right to meet together and consult upon all Matters inter- 
esting to them when and so often as they shall judge fit ; and it is more 
especially their Duty so to do when any Infringment is made upon their 
Civil or Religious Liberties. 

2. Resolved, That the raising a Revenue in the Colonies without their 
Consent, either by themselves or their Representatives, is an Infringment 
of that Right which every Freeman has to dispose of his own Property. 

3. Resolved, That the granting a Salary to his Excellency the Gov- 
ernor of this Province out of the Revenue unconstitutionally raised from 
us is an Innovation of a very alarming Tendancy. 

4. Resolved, That it is of the highest Importance to the security of 
Liberty, Life and Property that the publick Administration of Justice should 
be pure and impartial, and that the Judge should be free from every Bias, 
either in Favour of the Crown or the Subject. 

5. Resolved, That the absolute Dependancy of the Judges of the 
Superior Court of this Province upon the Crown for their support, would 
if it should ever take Place have the strongest Tendancy to bias the Minds 
of the Judges, and would weaken our Confidence in them. 

6. Resolved, That the Extension of the Power of the Court of Vice- 
Admiralty to its present enormous Degree is a great Grievance and de- 
prives the Subject in many Instances of that noble Privelege of English- 
men, Trials by Juries. 

7. Resolved, That the Proceedings of this Town be transmitted to 
the Town of Boston. 

Dr. William Dunsmoor, > 
John Prescott, 
JosiAH Kendall, 
Ebenezer Allen, 

Nathaniel Wyman, j 0^^,^^,,,,,^ 

Joseph White, | 

Aaron Sawyer, J 

Attest: Daniel Robbins, Town Clerk. 

To Captain Asa Whit comb. 

Sir : As you are chosen to represent this Town in the General As- 



Committee 
> for 



96 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

sembly of this Province, we take this Opportunity of informing you of our 
Sentiments relative to the unhappy State of our publick Affairs : You will 
perceive by the Resolves which are herewith sent to you, the Light in 
which we view the encroachments made upon our Constitutional Freedom ; 
particularly you will observe our serious Opinion of a Dependancy of the 
Judges of the Superior Court on the Crown for their Support. That they 
are already so dependant, or that it is in Contemplation to render them so, 
we have great Reason to fear. Also an Act passed in the late Session of 
the British Parliament entitled An Act for the better preserving his Majes- 
ty's Dock-Yards &c., does in a most essential Manner infringe the Rights 
and Liberties of the Colonies, as it puts it in the Power of any wicked 
Tool of Administration, either from Malice or Policy, to take any Inhabi- 
tant from the Colonies and carry him to Great Britain, there to be tried ; 
which, by the Expence and long Detention from his Occupation, would be 
the Destruction of almost any Man among us, altho' his Innocence might 
finally appear in the Clearest Manner ; and further the late Commissions 
for taking Persons in our Sister Colony, Rhode-Island, and sending them 
to Great Britain, there to be tried upon Suspicion of being concerned in 
burning his Majesty's Schooner Gaspee, is an Invasion of the Rights of 
the Colonies, and ought to excite the Attention of the whole Continent. 
We expect that you will use your utmost Efforts this Session of our Gen- 
eral Assembly to obtain a Radical Redress of our Grievances, and we wish 
you Success in your Endeavours, and which we cannot but flatter our- 
selves from the late happy Change in the American Departments, you will 
meet with. We confide in your Ability and Firmness in all Matters which 
may come before the General Court, assuring you of the Support of this 
Town in all your legal Proceedings, and earnestly praying that the great 
Governor of the World may direct and bless you in all your Ways. 

Attest : Daniel Robbins, Town Clerk. 

Other town-meetings, following in quick succession, 
were called alternately at the meeting-houses of the two 
parishes, which were over five miles apart. Captain Hez- 
ekiah Gates generally acted as moderator. The warrant 
for a town-meeting on Monday, September 5th, 1774, con- 
tained these articles : 

.... 2*1'^. To see if the Town will do any thing towards the Relief of 
the suffering Poor of the Town of Boston occationed by a Late Act of Par- 
liment for Blockeing up the Port of said Town or to Act or Transact any 
thing Relateing thereto. 

3"^'^. To see if the town will come into any agreement for non-Impor- 
tation & non-Exportation of Goods to or from Great Britain or to act or 
Transact any thing Relateing thereto. 



ACTION IN TOWN-MEETING. 97 



4*. To chuse a Committee or Committees to act or do any thing or 
things that the Town shall think Propper to be done or acted by any agree- 
ment with any other Town or Towns in order to get Releaf in the best 
and most easy way from our Present Difficultys Inflicted on us by the Late 
Acts of Parliment and to act and do any matter or thing that the Town 
shall see needfull to be done & Report to the Town from time to time what 
they have done & to Receive the Town's orders to act & do what the Town 
shall think Propper to be done & acted 

7"\ To see what way the Town will come into to pay their Part of the 
Present charges of ye Proposed Congress. 

S''^. To Grant money to Purchase a Town stock of Ammunition and 
to order how much shall be Purchased & where it shall be kept & under 
whose care & direction it shall be. 

9"^ To Pass such votes as the Town shall think Propper to be done to 
get Releaf from these Oppressive Acts of Parliment which hath been In- 
flicted on us Lately and to act any thing that said Town shall think need- 
full Relateing to the Congress and to accept and Rattify what they shall 
do if the town thinks fit. 

ID*. To Pass any Votes that may be thought needful in order to get 
Releaf in our Present Distressed Circumstances by our just Rights and 
Previledges as we think being taken from us. 

ii'*^. To see if the Town will vote to abide by our charter Rights & 
Previledges. 

By order of the selectmen of Lancaster. 

Joseph Moor, Constable. 

Lancaster, July 30"', A. D. 1774. 

At the meeting so warned : 

.... 2*^^^. Voted to Choose a Committee to Consist of seven Persons 
to be a Committee of Correspondence for y"^^ County. Chose Docf. Wil- 
liam Duiismoor, Deacon David Wilder, Aaron Sawyer, Capt. Asa Whit- 
comb, Capt. Hezek'^. Gates, John Prescott, Ephraim Sawyer, as a Com- 
mittee of Correspondence. 

Voted, that the above Committee make Report to the Town of their 
doeings from time to time as expressed in the warrant. 

Voted, that any number even less than a majority of the above Com- 
mittee shall be sufficient to Represent the Town as a Committee of Corres- 
pondence. 

Voted, that the Town will Indemnify the Constable for not returning 
a List of the Freeholders for Jurors under the Late Act of Parliment. 

Voted to Raise Fifty pounds for to buy Ammunition with to be a Town 
Stock. ... 

Attest: Sam. Ward, Town Clerk. 

The meeting adjourned to the second precinct, on Mon- 



98 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

day the nineteenth of September, and at this adjourned 

meeting : 

. . . . 2^^. Voted, That there be One Hundred men Raised as Volun- 
teers to be Ready at a minutes Warning to Turn out upon any Emergency, 
and that they be Formed into Two Companys & Choose their own officers. 

3"^. Voted, that the said volunteers shall be Reasonably paid by the 
Town for any services they may do us in defending our Libertys & Prev- 
iledges. 

4*. Voted, that Docf. W"'. Dunsmoor be Impower<i. to Enlist 50 
men in the old Parish to serve as Volunteers. 

5'^. Voted that Capt. Asa Whitcomb be Impower''. to Enlist 50 men 
in the Second Parish to serve as Volunteers. 

6*. Voted to Buy one field peice for the use of the Town. 

7"\ Voted that the Gentlemen Committee of Correspondence for this 
Town be a Committee to Purchase the said Field Gun 

At a meeting held by adjournment, Wednesday, Sep- 
tember 28 : 

. . . .2'^. Voted to choose one man for the Proposed Provencial Con- 
vention to be held at Concord on the second Tuesday of October next. 

3'!. Voted, & chose DocfW'" Dunsmore for the Proposed Provencial 
Convention to be held at Concord on y*^ 2^ Tuesday of October next. 

4">. Voted, that notwithstanding the Town Passed a vote at their Last 
meeting to buy one field piece, yet if the committee appointed for that 
Purpose thinks fit they may buy Two 2 Pounders in place thereof. . . . 

Lancaster was represented in this first Provincial Con- 
vention by Captain Asa Whitcomb and Doctor William 
Dunsmoor; Leominster, by Thomas Legate, Esq., and 
Israel Nichols ; Bolton, by Captain Samuel Baker and 
Ephraim Fairbanks ; Harvard, by Reverend Joseph Wheel- 
er. It was the last named who, October 25, presented in 
the convention a letter suggesting that while they were 
attempting to save themselves from slavery, they should 
"also take into consideration the state and circumstances 
of the Negro Slaves in this Province." 

Lancaster, December 12, 1774. At a meeting of the Freeholders & 
other Inhabitants of the town of Lancaster by adjournment, the Meeting 
being Opened, Passed the Following Votes, viz : 

Voted, to choose a Committee of 3 Persons to Draw up an Association 
League & Covenant for Nonconsumption of Goods, «S:c., for the Inhabi- 
tants to sign. 



ACTION IN TOWN-MEETINp. 99 



Voted, & Chose Doc^ W'". Dunsmoor, Capt. Hez'^ Gates & Capt. Asa 
Whitcomb a Committee for the above purpose 

Lanxaster, October 18"', 1774. At a meeting of the Freeholders . . . 
dy adjournment 

Voted, to chuse a Committee to Reckon with the Constables and Col- 
lectors of Taxes and see what moneys they have in their hands and to 
Direct them not to pay out any Public moneys out of their hands without 
the Town's order, and make Report to the Town of their Proceedings as 
soon as may be, and that Messrs Docf. Josiah Wilder, Aaron Sawyer & 
Ephraim Sawyer be a Committee for the above Purpose. 

The Committee appointed to Purchase Field Peices, Reported to the 
Town that they had Purchased Two 4 Pounders for Eight pounds, there- 
fore voted to accept of what they had done in that Respect. 

Voted, to buy 5 hundred w'. of Ball suitable for y'" Field Peices. 

Voted, to buy 3 hundred w'. of Grape Shott. 

Voted, that Messrs Aaron Sawyer & Ephraim Sawyer be empower'' to 
Receive the money due from the Town of Brookline to Pay for the field 
Peices, Ball & Grape Shott. 

Voted, that one Field Peice shall be Kept in the old Parish & the other 
in the new Parish, and the Grape Shott & Bali to be kept in the same 
manner. 

Lancaster, October 31, 1774 

Voted to choose a Committee to Receve the Province & County mon- 
eys from the several constables and to give the said constables Propper 
discharges for the same so that they may be Indemnified from any demands 
that may be made on them hereafter by the Province Treasurer or County 
Treasurer. 

Voted and chose Messrs. Aaron Sawyer, Ephraim Sawyer & Docf. 
Josiah Wilder a committee for the above purpose, and they are hereby 
directed to Pay the said moneys as fast as they may Receve them to Henry 
Gardner Esq'", of Stow, Receiver General. 

Voted that the above Committee be Empowered also to Receve the 
moneys Likewise of the several Constables which is Granted by the Gen- 
eral Court & now to be assessed, & Pay the same to Herrry Gardner Esq"". 

Voted to choose a Committee to Post up all such Persons as continue 
to buy sell or consume any East India Teas, in some Public Place in Town, 
and that Docf. Josiah Wilder, Ephraim Sawyer & Aaron Sawyer be a 
Committee for the above Purpose. 

Voted to build Two Carriages suitable for the Field Peices, & that 
Deacon Oliver Moor & Aaron Sawyer build one Carriage, and that Elisha 
White & Joel Phelps build the other Carriage 

Lancaster, January 2''. 1775 

Voted to Choose a Committee to receive Subscriptions & Donations 



lOO ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

for the Suffering Poor of the Town of Boston occationed by the Late Bos- 
ton Port Bin. 

Voted & Chose DoC". Dunsmore, Deacon David Wilder, Ephraim Car- 
ter, Deacon Asa Whitcomb, Capt. Daniel Robbins & Ephraim Sawyer as 
a Committee for the above Purpose. 

Voted to Carry in the Donations to some one of the Committee in a 
Fortnight from this day. 

Voted to adopt & abide by the spirit and sence of the Association of 
the Late Continental Congress held at Philadelphia. 

Voted to Chose a Committee to see that the said Association be kept 
& observed by the Inhabitants of said Town. 

Voted, That the above Committee have no pay but do the Business 
grafts. 

Voted & Chose John Prescott, Capt. Gates, Deacon David Wilder, 
Ephraim Carter, DoC. Wilder, Docf. Dunsmore, Samuel Thurston, Eb- 
enez^ Allen, Ephraim Sawyer, Capt. Asa Whitcomb, Capt. Robbins, 
Josiah Kendall Jr., Jon". Fairbanks, David Osgood and Jonathan Wilder 
as a Committee for the above Purpose. 

Voted & Chose David Osgood as a Committee man to Reckon with 
the Constables & Receive the moneys in the stead of Aaron Sawyer 
deceas*^. 

Voted and Chose Levi Moor & Israel Moor as a Committee to Com- 
pleat the Carriage for the Field Peice. 

Voted & Chose Capt. Asa Whitcomb & DoC. W'". Dunsmore to Rep- 
resent the Town of Lancaster in the said Provincial Congress to be held 

at Cambridge on the F' day of Feb'"y. next 

Sam. Ward, Totuh Clerk. 

Monday, March sixth, 1775. 

Voted that the selectmen be a Committee to Receve the Donations of 
the several gent'men of the Town to furnish the Poor of sd. town with 
good arms for the use of said Town. 

Voted the selectmen are Impowered to provide suitable Persons to use 

the grate goons 

Daniel Robbins, Town Clerk. 

. . . Third Monday of May, 1775 

Voted to Choose two men for the Provential Congress. 

Voted and Chose Dea. David Wilder & Doc'. W"\ Dunsmoor. 

Voted to add two more men for Correspondancy for the County — 
Chose Dea. Tho**. Fairbank & Mr. Jonathan Wilder. 

Voted to Choose one man more & Chose DoC Josiah Wilder. . . . 

Voted to reconsider this meeting and Dismissed Deacon David Wilder 
and Chose De'=. Thomas Fairbank as a member of Congress 

.... Monday, the seventeenth Day of July, 1775 



COUNTY CONVENTIONS. lOI 

Voted and Chose Capt. Hezekiah Gates and Mr Ebenezer Allen to 
Represent the Town this Presant year. 

It is curious to contrast with these early utterances in 
Lancaster of the rebelhon against King George's ministry 
the following title of a pamphlet published, in the year 
1772, by the first of these representatives elect, then cap- 
tain of the mounted company of the town, who had served 
under Shirley and Abercrombie : 

KING GEORGES RIGHT 

TO THE 

' Crown of GREA T BRITAIN 

Displayed : 

Being' a Collection from History, from the first 
Known Times to the present year iy6g Extracted 
for the Benefit of those in the Province of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay who have not Leisure to Study 
History. 

Shewing it to be the Duty of all Officers and 
others to defend the Heirs of SOPHIA being 
Protestajtts upon the British Throne, atid the 
undoubted Right that King GEORGE the third 
hath to the Crown of Great Britain. 

Extracted by 

HEZEKIAH GATES 

of Lancaster in NEW ENGLAND. 

The loyal Captain Gates, two years later, is found in 
the first Committee of Safety fiercely opposing the royal 
prerogative, and his only son headed the Lancaster troop- 
ers who galloped down the Bay Road to Lexington, April 
nineteenth, 1775, when the alarm courier brought news 
that the British were come out of Boston. 

A panel of fifteen grand jurors attending the summons 
of the superior court at Worcester, in April, 1774, before 
consenting to take the oath, presented a written protest 
which all had signed, refusing to serve should Chief Jus- 
tice Peter Oliver take his seat in that tribunal. He alone 



I02 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

of the judges had refused to yield to the authority of the 
Provincial Assembly, and retained his salary from the royal 
treasury. This act of the jurymen, in contempt of a court 
wielding almost unlimited power to fine or imprison any 
one disturbing or obstructing its mandates, well illustrates 
the temper of the times. Deacon David Wilder of Lancas- 
ter was the foreman of this patriotic jury. 

On Tuesday, August 9, 1774, a convention of the com- 
mittees of correspondence and delegates of several towns of 
Worcester county met at the house of Mrs. Mary Sternes, 
in W^orcester. Lancaster was therein represented by Doc- 
tor William Dunsmoor, Deacon David Wilder, Mr. Aaron 
Sawyer, Captain Samuel Ward, Captain Asa Whitcomb, 
Captain Hezekiah Gates, Mr. John Prescott and Mr. Eph- 
raim Sawyer; Harvard, by Reverend Joseph Whf eler ; 
Bolton, by Captain Samuel Baker and Lieutenant Jonathan 
Holman ; Leominster had no delegate then present. Cap- 
tain Samuel Ward and Lieutenant Jonathan Holman were 
members of the committee of ten who presented the patri- 
otic resolves which were passed by the convention. At the 
adjourned meeting of August 30, convened at the court 
house, Captain Samuel Ward was elected one of a com- 
mittee of nine to present resolutions for the consideration 
of the assembly. On September 6, the people of the 
county gathered upon Worcester green to the number of 
six thousand, armed and under their military leaders, ready 
to repel, by force if must be, the British troops which Gage 
was expected, and had proposed, to send to the protection 
of the court and its royalist officials. This demonstration 
of popular feeling had been foreshadowed in the discus- 
sions at the previous meeting of the delegates, and it seems 
probable that the governor, knowing well the ce'tainty of 
a collision, feared to carry out his avowed intention. The 
delegates, meeting at the house of their chairman, ad- 
journed to join the mass convention on the green. A com- 
mittee of three, Captain Asa Whitcomb of Lancaster being 



COUNTY CONVENTIONS. 103 

one, was chosen to wait upon the justices and obtain their 
signatures to the declaration ah-eady agreed to by the 
judges. The forty-three protesting royahsts of Worcester 
and the justices who had signed the loyal address to Gov- 
ernor Thomas Gage, were marched between the parallel 
lines of the armed assemblage, their principals reading the 
recantation which they had signed. Of these justices, 
Joseph Wilder, Abel Willard and Ezra Houghton were of 
Lancaster. Captain Samuel Ward was the same day 
chosen chairman of a committee of nine, whose duty it 
was made to arrange, with the help of the judges, means 
to prevent any stay in the course of justice. This duty 
was happily effected by the acceptance of their report, 
offered the following day, retaining the services of such 
officials of the court as had not become too obnoxious to 
the people. 

The convention of September 20, 1774, was principally 
engaged in organization of the militia. Seven Worcester 
county regiments were established, the third or Lancaster 
regiment to include the companies of Lancaster, Bolton, 
Harvard, Leominster, Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Ashburnham 
and Westminster. All commissions then in force were to 
be resigned, and new elections of line officers to take place 
at once. The company officers chosen were to elect the 
field officers. Many subsequent meetings of the delegates 
were held, but their records are brief during 1775. Doc- 
tor William Dunsmoor of Lancaster appears prominently 
as a leader in aflairs, his pronounced radical views suiting 
better the hot temper of the times than did the more pru- 
dent counsels of his astute neighbor, Captain Samuel Ward. 
The recorded action of the delegates does not especially 
concern our local history. 

The nature of the provocations that were fast severing 
the colonies from the mother-land are not alone visible in 
the grave protests against ministerial encroachment upon 
charter rights, made by town-meeting and popular conven- 



I04 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

tion. Outcries of indignation from classes and individuals 
are scattered through the diaries and printed journals of 
the day. On September 8, 1774, the blacksmiths of Wor- 
cester count}'^ met at the county seat, and adjourned to 
November 8, when they made declaration of their princi- 
ples, in a series of resolutions which were published in 
the papers of the period. They pledged themselves to do 
no labor which could directly or indirectly be held to aid 
or countenance any person whom they esteemed "enemies 
to their country commonly known by the name tories,'" or 
those "that shall not strictly conform to the affiliation or cov- 
enant agreed upon and signed by the Continental Congress 
lately convened at Philadelphia." Of the forty-three sons 
of Vulcan whose names are appended to the document 
were : Samuel Sawyer, Jr., Mark Heard, Ebenezer Belk- 
nap and Seth Heywood of Lancaster ; Job Spofford and 
Jonathan White of Leominster ; Thaddeus and John Pol- 
lard, and Samuel Jones of Harvard and Bolton. 

In the Boston Evening Post for Monday, August 15, 
1774, maybe found the following notice, signed by a prom- 
inent innholder of Lancaster : 

The subscriber finding that he could get no Satisfaction in a legal Way, 
takes the Freedom to acquaint the Publick with the Treatment that he 
met with at the Boston Neck Guard, by the Officer of the Guard, Lieut. 
Will'" Cochran of the 23'^ Regiment, and he does it the rather on account 
of the many Insults, Abuses and Wrongs that he understands have been 
daily offered to others. On the 12th of this Instant, driving his Waggon 
out of Town, which was not loaded with any Contraband Goods, he was. 
Contrary to Law, stopped and detained by the above officer near two 
Hours with his Waggon, putting him under Guard, using him with rough 
and Officer like Language, & not suffering him to go out to give anything 
to his Cattle, some of the Soldiers at the same time taking a cag of Rum 
out of his Cart, which he was obliged to consent to their doing, after they 
had proposed it, to prevent greater Abuse and Wrong &c. And when set 
at Liberty by the Officer of the Guard, demanding satisfaction for this 
cruel Treatment, all the satisfaction that I could get was, that if I did not 
go about my Business be would put me under Guard again. 

Attest, Jonas Wyman, of La7icaster. 

Boston, 13 August, 1774. 



THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 105 

IL THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 

As the men of Lancaster in the various wars of the pre- 
ceding hundred years were found wherever the service of 
king and country called them, from Carthagena to Quebec, 
so in the great contest for civil liberty Lancaster patriotism 
has its history in every arm of the service, and at every 
post of duty. When, on the morning of the nineteenth of 
April, 1775, the hurrying horseman sped through the town 
shouting news of the sudden irruption from Boston of 
Gage's hated red-coats, almost before the clatter of gallop- 
ing hoofs had faded away as a fresh horse bore the alarm 
courier westward, the roar of the town's four-pounder field- 
pieces signaled the not unexpected tidings, and speedily 
there swarmed from farm and shop down the Bay Road, 
under six company leaders, two hundred and fifty-seven 
resolute men, eager to meet and drive the invaders back. 
They marched to Cambridge, and General William Heath, 
in his Memoirs, tells us that "General Whitcomb was in 
this day's battle." It is therefore possible that his regiment 
of minute men, or some portion of it, arrived in season to 
take active part in the fray, although no casualties in it 
were reported. The companies remained at Cambridge 
about two weeks, but many of the men were allowed to re- 
turn to their homes some days sooner. About one in three 
enlisted for the remaining months of 1775, in the provincial 
service. 

The colonels of the two Lancastrian regiments, the 
brothers John and Asa Whitcomb, natives of Lancaster, 
and direct descendants of the original proprietor, John 
Whitcomb, had seen varied field service during the French 
and Indian wars. As has been detailed in previous pages, 
both served in the scouts of 1748. John held the rank of 
colonel in the first Crown Point expedition, and served 
during 1756, 1758 and 1760. Asa was captain of a com- 
pany in 1755 and 1758 ; and in 1768 he was one of the 
much extolled "ninety-two" representatives who refused — 
8 



Io6 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

notwithstanding a mandate from the crown and the persist- 
ent dictation of the royal governor — to rescind the action 
of the previous legislative session, by authority of which 
a circular letter touching the sovereign's encroachments 
upon colonial rights had been sent to the other provincial 
assemblies in America. Both Whitcombs had large farms, 
were deacons in their precincts, and greatly respected for 
their ability and probity. They had been left orphans at 
a tender age, and upon their attaining manhood the court 
had assigned to John the ancestral estate in the easterly 
part of Bolton, and to Asa lands upon Wickapeket Brook, 
in the west precinct of Lancaster, now Sterling. Upon 
these they resided in 1775. 

The "minute men" at this date differed little from other 
troops ; for the whole adult male population were armed 
and in training for strife. The "alarm list" embraced all 
able-bodied men between the ages of sixty-five and six- 
teen, save the few exempted because of profession or offi- 
cial position. The "training bands," as the militia com- 
panies were called, included all males between fifty and 
sixteen years of age, with the same exempts. The " min- 
ute men" composed about one-third of the militia, being 
those selected for their skill in the use of arms, exercised 
and equipped for active service at short notice. These 
distinctions disappeared early in the war. A regiment at 
first was nominally ten companies of one hundred men, 
but the complement varied in different states and from time 
to time. In the eight months' service of 1775, the company 
complement in Massachusetts was fifty-nine privates, two 
musicians, four corporals, four sergeants, one ensign, a 
lieutenant and captain ; and the regiment was composed of 
ten companies. The continental regiment was finally es- 
tablished to include eight companies of ninety men each. 
Every soldier at first was expected to be fully armed and 
accoutred at his own expense, unless too poor to provide 
his own equipments, when the town was enjoined to supply 



THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 107 

him. He was required to carry (besides his gun, bayonet, 
bhinket and knapsack) a cutting sword or hatchet, a jack- 
knife, six flints, forty bullets, one hundred buck-shot, a 
powder-horn and powder, some tow for wadding, and a 
wooden canteen holding a quart. Both powder and lead 
were scarce, and early in the war the housewife's pewter 
platters, and even leaden sash, were not seldom melted 
down in the home manufacture of musket-balls. 

The dress of the soldier was his ordinary homespun 
garb. Even the officers rarely had a distinguishing uni- 
form or arms by which they could be known, until Wash- 
ington required them to wear cockades in their hats. Field 
officers wore red cockades, captains yellow, and subalterns 
green ; sergeants had a red stripe, and corporals a green 
one, upon the right shoulder. It must be added, moreover, 
that the fashions of the day permitted much variety of 
shape and color in masculine attire. This is best seen from 
the personal description of deserters published in the week- 
ly papers during the siege of Boston. Reading them, one 
is inclined to exclaim, parodying the melancholy Jacques, 
"Motley's the only wear." James Bridge of Bolton is de- 
scribed by his captain as having "a large head of hair 
almost black and very long which is commonly cued with 
a black ribband," and as wearing "an old blue surtout, 
cloth-colored coat and jacket, a pair of Cotton breeches 
and two shirts, tow and linen." John Chowen of the same 
company, " a molatto but calls himself Indian," had on "a 
dark colored coat and a pair of breeches something lighter." 
Other combinations thus advertised are as follows : 

A blue coat, red waistcoat, blue breeches. — A blue coat, black vest, 
and metal buttons on hat. — A green coat, and old red great-coat. — A sad 
red coat, pale blue vest and dark brown thickset breeches. — A green coat 
and thick leather breeches. — A blue coat with metal buttons, leather 
breeches, blue yarn stockings and plated buckles. — Buckskin breeches, 
brown surtout coat, and white yarn stockings. — A blue coat faced with red 
and bound with yellow. — A lightish colored cloth great-coat and short 
sailor's jacket, leather breeches and white yarn stockings. 

From the note-book of Captain David Nourse, used 



Io8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

while in service during i777' ^s this memorandum of the 
allowance of rations to the soldier of that date : 

One Pound of beef or ^^ of Pound of Pork or one Pound of Salt fish 
Pr : Day. 

Three Pints of Peas or Beans Pr : Week or Vegetables at one Dollar 
Pr: Bushel for Peas or Beans. 

One Pint of Milk Pr : Day or at the Rate of 1/72 of a Dollar. 

One half Pint of Rice or one Pint of Indian Meal Pr : Week. 

One Quart of Spruce Beer or Cyder Pr : Man Pr : Day or nine Gallons 
of Molasses Pr : Company of 100 Men Pr: Week. 

Three Pounds of Candles to 100 men Pr : Week for Guards. 

Twenty-four Pounds of Salt or eight Pounds of hard Soap for 100 Men 
Pr : Week. 

This differs but slightly from the allowance in the Mas- 
sachusetts army of 1775. The money commutation for 
vegetables not supplied is often spoken of in the settlement 
of soldiers' accounts as sauce money. The troops at first 
were paid by the week : a captain receiving thirty shil- 
lings ; a first-lieutenant, twenty shillings ; an ensign or 
second-lieutenant, seventeen shillings six pence ; sergeants, 
twelve shillings ; corporals, eleven shillings ; and privates, 
ten shillings. Each soldier was paid a penny per mile for 
actual travel, going and returning. 

The Lexington-Alarm rolls for Lancaster and the towns 
formed from its original territory give the following lists of 
names. The columns of dates, wages, etc., as well as the 
sworn certificates of commanding officers appended to the 
rolls, and most of the headings, are omitted as of minor in- 
terest. In the spelling of names, that of the muster rolls 
is strictly copied : 

A list of Men &^ the tbiie tJicy spent &^ distance they traveled in their 
March to Cambridge on the ig^"/' day of April 1775, to defend the 
Country against General Gage &^ hts troops, under the command of 
Capt. Thomas Gates of Lancaster. 
Capt. Tho. Gates, John Hawks, Shadrach Hapgood, 

Lt. Jon''. Priest Whitcom, James Goodwin, Jona. Puffer, 

Lt. Rici. Townsend, Joel Osgood, Eben. Allen, 

Sgt. W". Hutson, Phin. Fletcher, Asa Rugg, 

Sg'. Peter Thurston, Reuben Gary, Jos. Blood, 



THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 109 

Sg'. Thos. Brooks, DaVi. Willard, Jr., Israel Willard, 

Corp. W". Whitcom, John May, Jr., Gardner Moors, 

Corp. Moses Burpee, Eph. Willard, Jr., Simeon Hemenway, 

Corp. Jonas Wyman, Thos. McBride, Jere. Willard, 

Priv. Lem. Sawyer, Benj. Bruce, Gab. Priest, 

Uriah Ward, Joel Phinney. 32 

[Massachusetts Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, XII, 95.J 

This mounted company was known as the " Lancaster 
Troop," and a few years earlier had been commanded by 
Captain Hezekiah, the father of Thomas Gates. Father 
and son lived at the junction of the two main roads leading 
from Lancaster to Sterling, and there kept an inn known 
far and wide as the Gates Tavern. This ancient hostelry 
was torn down about forty years ago. The Lancaster 
Troop kept up its organization and attended annual mus- 
ters until 1825. Lieutenant Townsend and seven of the 
troopers were of Bolton. The last ten upon the roll en- 
listed in the continental service for eight months. Joseph 
Willard, Esq., writing in 1826, says: "Of this company, 
James Goodwin, the oldest man in Lancaster, Moses Bur- 
pee, Samuel Sawyer, John Hawkes, Phineas Fletcher and 
Joseph Blood are living." We have much to regret in the 
fact that the limit set by Mr. Willard to his Sketches of 
the Town of Lancaster, did not permit him to record for 
us the reminiscences of these and other soldiers of the 
Revolution, and also of the surviving veterans of the 
French and Indian Wars, who were in his day fighting 
over the battles of their youth at many a fireside. Only 
few and faint traditions now survive to hint to us of the 
thrilling stories of personal daring and suffering, which, 
sixty years ago, could have been taken down from the lips 
of many an aged continental soldier. 

.... The Command of Capt. yohn Prescott of Lancaster. 
Capt". John Prescott, Priv. Abner Haskell, John Ballard, 

Lieut. John White, Jr., Will Jewett, Joseph Phelps, 

Serj. Elisha Allen, Adam Fleeman, Josiah Phelps, 

Serj. James Fuller, Jacob Zewer, Robert Phelps, 

Serj. Salmon Godfrey, Jona. Phillips, Peter Ayers, 



no 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Serj. Joseph Beeman, 
Corp. Seth Sergeant, 
Corp. Jon". Wilder, 
Corp. W". Shaw, 
Corp. Nath. White, 



Ichabod Garey, 
Asa Sterns, 
Abiel Abbot, 
Luke Carter, 
John Maning, 
Jona. White, 



David Robins, 
Jona. Atherton, 
Eben. Flagg, 
Moses Brewer, 
Oliver Houghton, 
John Baker. 32 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xiii, 68.] 



This Roll contains the travel and service of Capt. Joseph White and the 
Militia men under his command in Colo Asa Whitcomb^s regiment 
who in conseqnetice of the Alarm on the nineteenth day of April last 
marched from Lancaster in the County of Worcester to Cambridge 
for the defence of this Colony against the Ministerial troops. 



Capt". Jos. White, 

1 Lt. Cyrus Fairbanks, 

2 Lt. Moses Sawyer, 
Serj. Sam. Thurston, 
Serj. Josh. Fletcher, 
Serj. John Clarke, 
Corp. Peter Larkin, 



Corp. Moses Wilder, 
Priv. J no. White, 
Nat. White, 
W'". Richardson, 
Phineas Wilder, 
Jos. Lewis, 



Jon''. Whitney, 
Asel Phelps, 
Jos. Fairbanks, 
Josiah Bennet, 
W'". Phelps, 
Joseph Beman. 



19 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xiii, 189.] 



Provincial Ridgetnetit of foot of militia meti Commanded by Coll. Asa 
Whit comb, part of the Larram Company whereof Cap. Jonth. Wil- 
der Commanded, who marched to Cambridge in conseqnoice of an 
alarm order of the Coll. and returned again not listed in the Ameri- 
can Service. [April 19 to 22.] 
Jon"\ Wilder, se7't., Jonth. Fairbanks, Nath'. Jones. 

Caleb Whitney, 
Then by request of General John Whetcomb we marcht to Cambridge 
again. [April 29 to May 4.] 

Jonath. Wilder, sert., Jonath. Fairbanks, Caleb Whitney. 

We bore our own expenses both for ourselves and our horses all the 

time we were from home. 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, XIII, 173.] 

Provincial Regiment of foot of Militia Men Cotfwianded by Col°. Asa 
Whitcomb, Part of the Second aiid Thirtieth Companies whereof Capt . 
Daniel Robbins Commands, who marched to Cambridge in consequence 
of an alarm by order of the Col" and return'^ again 7iot Listed in the 
American Service. 
Daniel Robbins, capt". Josiah Wilder, Jun., Ephraim Bowker, 
Asa Wilder, i ,/ lietit. Abraham How, Elijah Wilder, 

Fortunatus Eager, 2d lieut. Joseph How, David Whittecor, 

Edward Newton, ensign. John Robbins, Samuel Jewett, 



THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 



Ill 



Josiah Kendall, i-^'' lieiit. 
Jonathan Baley, ensign. 
Samuel Baley, sergt. 

Nathaniel Wright, Jr., " 
John Dresser, " 

Thomas Mears, " 

Samuel Thompson, corp. 
Thomas Ross, " 

Samuel Herring, " 
Simeon Lyon, " 

Benjamin Whitemore, 
Seth Fairbank, 
Ephraim Wright, 
Thomas Wright, 



Seth Brooks, 
Gamaliel Beaman, 
Benjamin Beaman, 
Josias Baley, 
Jonathan Thompson, 
John Kilburn, 
William Palmer, 
Calvin Moor, 
James Houghton, 
George Hibris, 
Joshua Sawyer, 
Joseph Dunsmore, 
Jonathan Prescott, 



Samuel Holman, 
Asa Smith, 
Hugh Moore, 
Timothy Wilder, 
Joshua Whitney, 
Elijah Dole, 
David Gray, 
Daniel Farrar, 
Noah Kendall, 
Seth Ross, 
Jonas Beaman, 
Oliver Fairbank, 
Reuben Moore, 



53 



Thomas Sawyer, quartermaster, as a private. 
[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xill, 77.] 



Provintial Regiment of foot of Mimtte Men Cotnmanded by Col. John 
M liitcomb, second Company of sd. Regitnent whereof Sa?nuel Sawyer 



was Captain, . . . 
Samuel Sawyer, capt. 
Manassa Sawyer, leiet. 
Joel Houghton, ensign. 
Ebenezer Ross, corporal. 
Lemuel Fairbanks, " 
Jabez Brooks, 
Jonathan Wilder, Junr. 
Samuel Churchel, 



not Inlisted in the Aj/ierican Service. 



Timothy Hawood, 
Ephraim Powers, 
Jacob Robins, 
Aron Kilburn, 
John Spaftbrd, 



John Persons, 
Oliver Powers, 
Ezra Sawyer, 
Asa Smith, 
Ephraim Wiman, 



Thomas Sawyer, Jun. Obediah Grose, 
Silas Rice, Abel Bigelow. 

[Mass, Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xiii, 84.] 



.... ingaged in the provititial service. 
Ephraim Richardson, lent. Thomas Kleland, Isaac Tower, 



Elijah Dresser, 
John Densmore, 
Aaron Gary, 
Ephraim Goss, 
Joshua Kindall, 
Israil Manning, 
Jonathan Phillips, 
Elisha Prouty, 
Jacob Piper, 
Josiah Person, 



Seth Hawood, sergeant. 
Ephraim Bointon, " 
Ebenezer Pike, " 

Luther Graves, " 

Jiles Wills, corporal. 
Timothy Brown, " 
John Wheler, drummer. 
William Kindall, fifer. 
Ebenezer Belknap, private. 
Thomas Blockit, 

Israel Coock, 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xill, 115.] 

Captain Sawyer and most of his company were from 
the second precinct. 



Ephraim Winship, 
Jacob Wilder, 
Roger Bartlet, 
Nathaniel Brown, 
Mathias Larkin, 
Samuel Rice, 
Solemon Holeman 
Menassa Powers, 
John Sawyer, 
Jude Sawyer. 



56 



112 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



This Roll contains the navies and service of Capt" Benjamin Houghton fir* 
the minute men under his command in Colo, yohn WhetcomU's Regi- 

tfient 

Jona. Kendall, 
John Willard, 
Jona. Knowlton, 
Steph. Wilder, 
Titus Wilder, 
John Dana, 
Elijah Ball, 
Daniel Knight, 
John Thurston, 
Edm. Larkin, 
Joseph Josslyn, 
Henry Willard Farmer, David Horseley, 
The following persons did enlist into the Continental Artny. 



Capt". Benj. Houghton, 
2^ Lieut. Sam'. Josslyn, 
Serj. Nath. Sawyer, 
Serj. Sam. Wilder, 
Corp. Aaron Johnson, 
Corp. Will'". Wilder, 
Drum. W". Wheelock, 
Drum. Eph. Kindall, 
Priv. Paul Sawyer, 
Thomas Bennet, 
Abijah Hawks, 



Reuben Lipenwell, 
John Bennet, 
Jonas Prescott, 
Nathan Esterbrook, 
Elisha Houghton, 
Stanton Carter, 
Joseph Jones, 
Josh. Fairbanks, 
Abijah Houghton, 
Mathew James, 
John Chowen. 



Sam. Adams, 
Thos. Goodwin, 
Elisha Rugg, 
Jona. Ross, 
Jacob Phelps, 
Isaac Eveleth, 
Abijah Phillips, 
Benja. Houghton, 



Abel Wyman, 
Benj. Ballard, 
Jos. Beaman, 
Dan. Wyman, 
John Baker, 
Josiah Bowers, 
Joseph Phelps, 
Josiah Phelps, 

Abel Allen, 6i 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, XII, 14.0] 

Three companies marched from Leominster at the Lex- 
ington Alarm ; ninety-nine men in all. As the names will 
show, very many of these soldiers were lineal descendants 
of the Lancaster pioneers : 

Captaiti Joshua Wood''s Company of Militia 



First Lt. And*. Haskell, 
Sarg. Jon^. Sawyer, 
Sarg. John Kendrick, 
Corp. John Farwell, 
Corp. Jere. Haskell, 
Fifer John Wheelock, 
Priv. Mark Heard, 
Jacob Wilder, 
Eber Sawyer, 



Capt. Joshua Wood, Priv. Elisha White, 

Lieut. Nathaniel Carter, John Jewett, 

Lieut. Edward Phelps, 

Sergt. Joseph Beaman, 

Sergt. Samuel Stickney, 

Sergt. Phillip Svveetser, 

Sergt. Thomas Wilder, 

Corp. Daniel Nichols, 

Corp. Elijah Fairbank, 

Corp. Ephraim Carter, 

Corp. Benjamin Perkins, 

Drummer John Wood, 



Jonas Gates, 
William Boutell,Jr. 
Luke Richardson, 
Abiathar Houghton, 
Samuel Hale, Jr. 
Joseph Wilder, Jr. 
John Bennet, 
Josiah White, 
James Boutell, 



Ebenezer Osgood, 
Benjamin Hale, 
Caleb Cummins, 
David Fleeman, 
Isaac Whitman, 
John Bowers, 
Abraham Houghton, 
Jese Slack, 
Charles Eames, 
John Hale, 
David Hale. 34 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xlll, 161.] 



THE LEXINGTON ALARM. 



113 



Captain David Wilder's Company of Minute Men, Colonel John Wkit- 

cojnU's Regiment 

Capt. David Wilder, Phinius Carter, 

Lieut. Joseph Bellows, Israel Winian, 

2*1 Lieut. Thomas Harkness, Richard Fowler, 



Sergt. Elijah Gaffil, 
" John Locke, 
" Rufus Houghton, 
" Abijah Butler, 

Noah Dodge, 



Jonathan Marting, 
David Kendal, 
Josiah Whetcomb, 
James Joslin, 
David Willson, 



William Nichols, 
Ebenezer Stewart, 
Ephraim Buss, 
David Clarke, 
Josiah Colburn, 
Asa Kendal, 
Richard Stewart, 
Ruben Gates. 



24 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xii. 175.] 



Captain John Joslin'' s Company of Minute Men, Colonel John IVJiitcomU's 



Capt. John Joslin, 
Lieut. Thomas Gary, 
1^ Lieut. Phinehas Carter, 
Clark Oliver Houghton, 
Sargent Joseph Joslin, 
" Robert Legate, 
" John Colbourn, 



Regiment 

Corp. Nathan Colbourn, 

" Aaron Kendall, 
Private Thomas Page, 
" Tolham Bennett, 
Nathaniel Evens, 
Abraham Goodnow, 



Nathan Johnson, 
Francis Parker, 
Benjamin Smith, 
Enoch Chase, 
David Boutell, 
Moses Osgood. 



Ensign Timothy Boutell, 
Sergt. William Warner, 
Corp. Josiah Carter, Jr. 
Corp. Samuel Buss, 
Drummer Luke Aldridge, 
Fifer Abijah Haskell, 
Private Jonathan Kendall, 
Levi Warner, 



Enlisted in Army. 
Zebedee Symonds, 
Jonathan Colbourn, 
Amos Brown, 
Joshua Pierce, 
Stephen Chase, 
John Stone, 
Joshua Proute, 



Joseph Smith, 
Nathaniel Chapman, 
Benjamin Stearns, 
Benjamin Gary, 
Luke Johnson, 
Joshua White, 
James Wood. 41 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xii, 159.] 



Four companies are credited to Harvard in the Lexing- 
ton Alarm rolls, containing one hundred and sixty-four 
men : 

Captain Jonathan Davis^s Compatiy of Mituite Men in Colonel John 
Whitcomfs Regiment 



Capt. Jon*. Davis, 
Lieut. 'Elisha Fullam, 
2.^ Lieut. Jon''. Pollard, 
Ensign James Haskell. 
Sergt. Jabez Keep, 
" John Mead, 



Fifer Jacob Davis, 
Priv. Jacob Fullam, 
Reuben Garfield, 
Thaddeus Pollard, 
Thomas Pratt, 
Solomon Haskell, 



Eben''. Davis, 
Charles Warner, 
John Wood, 
David Whitney, 
John Farnsworth, 
Ezekiel Cox {deserted) 



114 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Soigt. Isaac Holden, 

Abraham Munroe, 
Corp. lienj". Uiurance, 
" Josiah Whitney. 
" Prince Turner, 
"• Josiah Gates. 
Dnimmer Cyrus Fairbanks. 

Jona. Davis, 
Filer Abijah Worster, 



Joshua Bowers. Abijah Warner, 



Benj. Robbins, 
Jacob Whitney, 
Jacob Priest, 
Josiah Davis, 
Manasseh Stow. 
John Knight, 
Francis Farr, 
George Gleason, 



Nath". Farnsworth. 
Philemon Priest, 
Oliver Mead, 
Daniel Furbush, 
Thomas White, 
Isaiah Whitney, 

(liiiSerteii). 
43 



[M.iss. Archives, Revolutioncuy Rolls, xil, 36, 41, 48.] 



Captain Isaac Gates's C 

Capt. Isaac Gates, 

Lieut. Josiah Haskell. 

Lieut. Amos F.iirbank. 

Ensign John D.\by. 

Sergt. Sim. Willard, 
"^ Sam^. Hill, 
" John Houghton, 
" John Daby. 

Corp. Gibson Willard. 
Israel Whitney. 

Drummer Lem'. Willard. 

Priv. John Sawver. 



orr:f>iJny of Miliiia in 

Rc-gimcnt 

Benj*. Barnard, 
Lem^ Farnsworth. 
Asa Farnsworth. 
Barzilkii Willard. 
Malbery Kingman, 
Joseph Knight, 
Sam'. Farnsworth, 
Joseph Wood, 
Phineas Fairbank. 
Nicholas Patterson, 
John Atherton, 
Lemi. Haskell. 



Colonel Jsa Whitcomb's 

Elijah Willard, 
Ed\r^ Cheney, 
Joseph Atherton, 
Zaccheus Stevens, 
Josiah Willard. 
Jere*'. Bridge. 
Eph*". Barnard, 
Jon*. Sawyer, 
Levi Fairbank, 
Asa Haven. 
Benj* Stow, 
Jon*. Symonds. 



Enlisted in American Army. 
Eben'^. Warner. Thos. Chamberlin, W"\ Safford, 

Sam^ Worster, Joel Finney. W"^. Harris, 

Sam'. Finney, W™. Haskell, Aaron Priest, 

W". Bennett, Benj*. Willard, Sam'. Furbush. 

[Mass. Archives. Revolutionaiy Rolls, xll, 99.] 



4S 



Captaitt yasefik Juurdaftk's 

Capt. Jos. Fairbanks, 
Lt. W'". Burt. 
Lt. Phineas Willard. 
Ensign Jos. Willard. 
Sgt. Jona. Reed. 

*• Jona. Clark. 

*• Benja. Cutler. 

•♦ Rich'^. Whitney. 
Corp. John Priest, 



Company in Colonel 
rmnt 

Israel Taylor, Esq. 
Jos. Wheeler. Esq. 
Lem-. Willard, 
Jer^. Laughton. 
W™. Sanderson, 
Jos. Atherton, 
Jos. Houghton. 
Abr. Willard, 
Jona. Adams, 



Asa IfAt/coffti's Regi- 

Oliver Whitney, 
Phineas Fairbanks, 
Jer^^. Priest. 
Elijah Houghton. 
Jeseph Blanchard, 
Eben'^. Burges, 
Stephen Randall. 
Manasseh Sawyer, 
Isaac Haile, 



THE LEXIXGTOxX ALARM. 



"5 



Coq). Isaiah Whitney, 
" Saml. Meed, 
" Timo. Willard, 



Ward Safford, James Perry, 

Oliver Whetcomb, Oliver Wetherbe, 
Aaron Davis, 35 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary' Rolls, xii, 74.J 



Captain y antes Burt's Co7npany. 
Capt. James Burt, George Coon, 



Lt. Phinehas Farnsworth, 

Lt. Jacob Robins, 

Ensign Caleb Sawyer, 

Sergt. Hezek. Whitney, 
" Ephraim Davis, 
" Joel Stone, 
" Charles Taylor, 

Corp. James Whitcom, 
" Silas Rand, 
" Simon Cooper, 
•' Abel Whitcom, 

Jotham Barnard, 

Simon Whitney 



Coleman Sanderson, 
Aaron Whitney, 
Silas Whitney, 
Sam'. Brown, 
Dan. Houghton, 
Closes Hale, 
Timo. Phelps, 
Timo. Crouch, 
Abijah Reed, 
W". Park, 
Diivid Farwell, 
Abel Farnsworth, 



David Sterns, 
Lemuel Stone, 
Jona. Crouch, Jr. 
Willis Secomb, 
Aaron Warner, 
John Sartell Farwell, 
Joseph Wetherbe, 
Richard Whitney, 
Joseph Park, 
Joseph Blanchard, 
Jabez Keep, Jr. 
Jerem. Willard, 
James Willis. 40 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, XI, I96.] 



Three companies from Bolton (including Berlin dis- 
trict) marched to Cambridge at the Lexington Alarm : — 
one hundred and twenty-seven men : 

Captain Benjamin Hastings's Co7)tpatiy, Col. John WhitcoinVs Regiment. 



Capt. Benj*. Hastings, 
Lieut. Jonathan Houghton, 
2 Lieut. Jonathan ^lerriam, 
Sergt. Benjamin Gold, 

" John Wilson, 

" Timothy Mosman, 

" David Moore, 
Corp. James Townsend, 

*' Andrew McWain, 

" Silas Welch, 

" James Briges, 
Josiah Cooledge, 
Ephraim Fairbank, 
John Houghton, 
John Hasting, 
Abner Moore, 
Joseph Pratt, 



Abel Moore, 
William Biglow, 
William Sawyer, 
Israel Sawyer, 
Nathaniel Holman, 
John Ross, 
Hezekiah Gibbs, 
Levi Meriam, 
Nathaniel Hastings, 
Samuel Stanhop, 
Abraham Holman, 
Calnn Holman, 
Joel Fosket, 
Simon Houghton, 
Sanderson Houghton, 
Jeremiah Priest, 
Josiah Sawyer, Jr. 



Jonathan Whitcomb, 
Abraham Whitney, 
Josiah Sawyer, 3'*. 
Jeremiah Wilson, 
Nathan Ball, 
Cyrus Gates, 
Joseph Amsden, 
Benjamin Marble, 
Lemuel Bruce, 
Samuel White, 
William White, 
Nathl Oakes, 
Elijah Foster, 
Josiah Moore, 
Joshua Townsend, 
William Sawyer, 
John Welch, 



ii6 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Jonathan Robins, 
William Ross, 
Jonas Welch, 



Joseph Sawyer, Amos Fuller, 

Thomas Atherton, Jacob Houghton. 58 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xii. 135.] 



Captain Art etnas Hoiifs Militia Company. 



Capt. Artemas How, 
Lieut. David Nurss, 
2 Lieut. Joseph How, 
Sergt. W™. Pollard, 
" W"'. Jones, 
" Jotham Maynard, 
" David Rice, 
Corp. Josh. Johnson, 
Timo. Bailey, 
Elisha Hodson, 
Drum''. Jabez Fairbank, 
Fif. Samuel Jones, Jr. 



Samuel Baker, 
John Coolidge, 
Joseph Woods, 
Solomon Jones 
Benj'^. Bailey, 
Eben. Bailey, 
George Sawyer, 
Jonas Johnson, 
Samuel Jones, 
Nath. Longley, 
Thos. Pollard, 
Amos Osgood, 
[Mass. Archives, 



Eben. Worcester, 
Nathan Jones, 
John Bruce, 
Asa Fay, 
Silas Bailey, Jr. 
Benj. Muzzy, 
Asa Johnson, 
Silas Bailey, Sen. 
Jacob Moor, 
John Barnard, 
Robert Fife, 
Steph. Bailey. 
Revolutionary Rolls, xiii, 194.] 



36 



Company of Captain Robert Lo?tgley, Colonel Asa Whitcoinb''s Regiment. 



Capt. Rob. Longley, 
Lieut. Paul Whitcomb, 
Lieut. Thos. Osborn, 
Sergt. John Townsend, 
" Oliver Barrett, 
" Phin. Moore, 
" Abel Piper, 
" Oliver Jewett, 
Drummer Jon". Priest, 
Gabriel Priest, 
Jon" Nurss, 
Isaiah Bruce, 



Beriah Oak, 
David Stiles, 
Jabez Walkett, 
Thaddeus Pollard, 
Sam. Blood, 
Epm. Whitney, 
David Stratten, 
Jonas Whitcom, 
John Peirce, 
Jon". Whitcom, Jr. 
Sanderson Houghton, 



Sami. Bruce, 
Asa Nurss, 
Benj. Nurss, 
Israel Foster, 
James Flood, 
W™. Cooledge, 
[Cyrus] Gates, 
Josiah Edwards, 
Richard Hazeltine, 
Jacob French, 
Eph'". Chamberlain. 



[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, XII, 182.J 



34 



Field and Staff of the regiment of minute 7/ien. 

Colonel John Whitcomb, of Bolton. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Legate, of Leominster. 
First-Major William Dunsmoor, of Lancaster. 
Second-Major Ephraim Sawyer, of Lancaster. 
Adjutant Jeremiah Gager, of Westminster. 
Quartermaster David Osgood, of Lancaster. 



BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. 1 17 

Field mid Staff of the militia regimetit. 

Colonel Asa Whitcomb, of Lancaster. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Whitney, of Harvard. 
First-Major Josiah Carter, of Leominster. 
Second-Major John Rand, of Westminster. 
Adjutant Eliakim Atherton, of Bolton. 
Quartermaster Jeremiah Laughton, of Harvard. 

[Mass. Archives, Revolutionary Rolls, xxvi, 318, 336.] 



III. BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. 

The day before the battle of Lexington, the Committee 
of Safety and SuppHes, having met at Newton, designated 
Lancaster as one of nine towns wherein depots of miHtary 
material were to be established. It was ordered that be- 
sides infantry ammunition, one company of matrosses, two 
iron three-pounder cannon with thirty-three rounds each of 
grape, canister and round shot, two medicine chests and 
one hundred and fifty tents should be kept in this town. 
The exigency, however, quickly concentrated all the scanty 
military stores of the Province in and about Cambridge. 
To be near the camps, the Provincial Congress re-assembled 
at Watertown, and on April 25 resolved to raise an army 
of thirteen thousand men from the state militia, trusting to 
the other colonies to augment this to thirty thousand. En- 
listments began at once, and Lancaster's quota was soon in 
camp, the volunteers mostly j'oining two companies re- 
cruited for Colonel Asa Whitcomb's regiment. Colonel 
John Whitcomb had received the promotion due to his 
experience. 

During the later months of 1774 ^"^^ general officers 
had been chosen by the Provincial Congress : Honorable 
Jedediah Preble, a brigadier of the French and Indian 
War, now nearly three score and ten years of age ; Hon- 
orable Artemas Ward, who had been a lieutenant-colonel 
under Abercrombie, but had won his chief repute in civil 



Il8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

pursuits ; Colonel Seth Pomeroy, who had served as major 
in Colonel Samuel Willard's regiment at Louisbourg, now 
seventy years old ; Colonel William Heath, skilled as yet 
only in the theory of war, but commander of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery ; Colonel John Thomas, Shirley's 
staff surgeon, and commander of a regiment in 1759 ^^ 
Crown Point. General Preble declined service on account 
of growing infirmities. Artemas Ward was made Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and General Thomas lieutenant-general, 
by the Second Congress. ''Honorable John Whitcomb, 
Esq.," of Bolton, was, on February 15, 1775, added to the 
list of generals, and at the first council of war, convened 
at Cambridge the day after the Concord Fight, he was one 
of the three general officers present. On the sixth of May 
he and Colonel Benjamin Lincoln were appointed muster- 
masters. General Whitcomb declined this service, "on 
account of various avocations,'' and his younger brother, 
Colonel Asa Whitcomb, was three days later chosen to fill 
the vacancy. June 13th, John Whitcomb was elected "first 
major-general of the Massachusetts army," and the follow- 
ing day Joseph Warren was chosen the "second major-gen- 
eral." A committee was appointed to wait upon both 
officers and desire their immediate acceptance. General 
Whitcomb hesitated, it is said on account of his health, and 
a committee was ordered "to draw a complaisant letter to 
Gen. Whitcomb, to desire a more explicit answer," which 
letter follows : 

Watertown, June 16, 1775. 
S/r: Your letter wherein you express yourself willing to continue in 
the Service of this Colony, until the army is regulated and properly en- 
camped and then rely on a discharge, was read with much concern by this 
Congress, who earnestly hope you will continue in office till the conclusion 
of the campaign, and must beg your further and more explicit answer. 

On the next day was fought the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and its chief martyr, the second major-general of Massachu- 
setts, is a famous name in history ; while Major-General 
John Whitcomb, second in command of the state forces at 



BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. II9 

Cambridge that day (although he had not received his 
commission), being held in reserve at Lechmere Point — 
probably by order of the commander-in-chief, who expected 
the British to attack Cambridge — had no opportunity to 
win laurels. In Massachusetts Archives, cxlvi, 246, is 
found his reply to the "complaisant letter:" 

To the Honbl^ Con^^ress : 

Whereas -you Desire of me to Giue a more Explicit Answer as to 
my opintment, as the Surcumstances of the army is so Deficult and the 
Enemy so ner I excep the Seruis to Do my Duty as far as I shall Be Able. 
I am your ms' obedeint Ser. 

John Whetcomb, Co/o. 
Cambridge, June y^ 22^, i777- 

He was at once commissioned major-general of Massa- 
chusetts forces, to date from June 21, and the commission 
was handed to him by the President of Congress June 26. 
The following letter indicates that his lack of literary at- 
tainments did not prevent a generous appreciation of his 
military services and ability : 

In the House of Representatives, July 22, 1775. 
Sir : This house approving of your services in the station you were 
appointed to in the army by the Congress of this Colony, embrace this 
opportunity to express their sense of them, and at the same time to desire 
your Continuance with the army, if you shall judge you can do it without 
Impropriety, till the final determination of the Continental Congress shall 
be known with regard to the appointment of General officers. We assure 
you that the Justice of this House will be engaged to make you an ade- 
quate conpensation for 3'our services. We have such intelligence as 
affords us confidence to suppose, that a few days will determine whether 
any such provision shall be made for you as is consistent with your honor 
to accept and shall give you encouragement to remain in the service. 

By order of the House. 

[Massachusetts Archives, LVU, 264.] 

Similar letters were sent to Generals John Thomas and 
James Frye. Much heart-burning had resulted from the 
selections made by the Provincial Congress for the highest 
military officers, and the appointments of the Continental 
Congress increased dissatisfaction among the battle-scarred 
veterans of former wars. No record shows that John 



I20 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Whitcomb resented the slight put upon him — anymore 
than did the sturdy patriot, Pomeroy — although he was the 
senior in years, military experience and rank in service, to 
every one of the congressional appointees. June 5, 1776, 
he was commissioned brigadier-general in the continental 
army, and General Washington announced to Major-Gen- 
eral Artemas Ward, upon resignation of the latter, that he 
proposed to order General Whitcomb, so soon as he should 
accept his commission, to assume command of the forces 
in Massachusetts. [See American Archives, iv, vi, 929.] 
John Whitcomb, however, returned the commission, ''desir- 
ing to be excused on account of age and a diffidence of not 
being able to answer the expectation of Congress." He 
served for four years an honored member of the council, to 
which he v^'as elected July 25. He had been chosen to the 
same position in 1773, but then declined the office, prefer- 
ing to remain in the House of Representatives. The his- 
torian, Frothingham, describes him as "one of the sterling, 
disinterested officers of the early revolution," one who 
"appears to have enjoyed to a great degree the respect and 
confidence of his contemporaries." He died November 17, 
1785, in the seventy-third year of his age. The epitaph 
upon the unpretentious stone that marks his grave in Bol- 
ton's oldest burial ground ignores his military honors, 
giving only his civic title. 

The Lancaster regiment was among the first filled. By 
provincial regulations the complement required ten com- 
panies of fifty-nine rank and file. On the twenty-fifth of 
May, Colonel Asa Whitcomb reported eleven companies 
encamped at Cambridge, containing five hundred and sixty 
volunteers. The field and staff officers were as follows : 
Colonel Asa Whitcomb of Lancaster, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Josiah Whitney of Harvard, Major Ephraim Sawyer of 
Lancaster, Adjutant Jeremiah Gager of Westminster, 
Qiiartermaster Jeremiah Laughton of Harvard, Surgeon 
William Dunsmoor of Lancaster, Surgeon's Mate Moses 



BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. 



121 



Barnard of Harvard. Eliakim Atherton of Bolton was 
appointed a deputy commissary of the Province. 

Here followeth an account of the Subbaltons in the several Companies 
Belonging to Colo. Asa Whetcomb's Regament Recommended to the 
Committee of Safty for their approbation. By the sevral Capt. who has 
Rec'' their Comitions. 



Capf^. Names. 
John Fuller, 
Ephraim Richardson, 
James Burt, 
David Wilder, 
Andrew Haskell, 
Robert Longley, 
Agrippa Wells, 
Jonathan Davis, 
Abner Cranson, 
Edmond Bemis. 



Ens''^. Names. 
Jared Smith, 
Ephraim Boyenton, 
Jabez Keep, 
Timothy Boutal, 
Jonathan Sawyer, 
Ephraim Smith, 
Ezekiel Foster, 
John Meed, 
Benjamin West, 
David Foster. 



Leufs. Names. 
Ebenezer Bridge, 
Seth Haywood, 
Ebenezer Woods, 
Jonathan Gates, 
John Kendrick, 
Silvanus Smith, 
Jacob Poole, 
Elisha Fullom, 
John Wyman, 
John Hore. 
Camp at Cambridge, June y'^ 3'^, 1775. 

Asa Whitcomb, Colo. 
Adjutant Jeremiah Gager. 

[Massachusetts Archives, CXLVI, 156.] 

Of the eleventh company Colonel Whitcomb says : 

I have a full Reg', exclusive of Benj Hastings who has 53 in his Com- 
pany, and he has done Duty with me and declines joining any other Reg', 
and I desire that the officers of that Company may be commissioned & 
join my Reg'mt. Asa Whitcomb. 

Benj Hastings, capt. Jonathan Houghton, lieid. Jonathan Meriam, 
2<i. lieut. 

Camp No. 2, Cambridge, June 30, 1775. 
This may certify, that we, the subscribers, being chosen Officers of a 
Minute Company, in Bolton., have taken orders to raise a Company in the 
present Army : and having fifty-three able-bodied, effective men, fit for 
service, in our Company, and having done duty in Colonel Whetcomb's 
Regiment from our first taking out orders, we desire that we may be com- 
missioned under the above said Colonel, which was the expectation of the 
Company. Benjamin Hastings, Captain. 

Jonathan Houghton, Lieutenant. 
Jonathan Meriam, Second Lieutenant. 
To the honourable the Provincial Congress. 

[American Archives, iv, 11, 828.] 

Haskell's and Richardson's companies were mostly of 
9 



122 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster ; Burt's and Davis's of Harvard ; Longley's of 
Bolton and Shirley ; Hastings's of Bolton ; Wilder's of 
Leominster and Ashburnham ; Fuller's of Lunenburg ; 
Bemis's of Westminster ; Cranson's of Marlborough ; and 
Wells's of Greenfield, etc. The regiment lost five killed, 
eight wounded, and two missing in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, according to the official returns. The historian, Ban- 
croft, says "from the regiment of Whitcomb of Lancaster 
there appeared at least fifty privates, but with no higher 
officers than captains." The loss as well as other facts 
seem to prove that more than twice fifty were at the front. 
Richard Frothingham states that it was represented in 
action by "a few companies," and, upon what authority is 
not discovered, adds that probably Captain Burts' and 
Wilders' companies were of these. He also relates that 
"one account by a soldier states that Captain Benjamin 

Hastings led one company of thirty-four, and took 

post at the rail fence." Sergeant Robert Phelps of Has- 
kell's Lancaster company was mortally wounded and died 
a prisoner in Boston ; and David Robbins of the same com- 
pany was killed. In Massachusetts Archives, clxxxi, 73, 
is a petition of Elisha Houghton, a Lancaster man in Cap- 
tain Hastings's company, alleging that he was in the battle 
and helped Jacob Davis, who was wounded, off' the field. 
This wounded man was of Harvard, belonged to Captain 
Burt's company, and was discharged October 6th, on ac- 
count of his injury. Among resolves passed by the House 
of Representatives, Februaiy 6, 1776, for the payment of 
accounts for losses at Bunker Hill, were the following: 

To the heirs, or Master of David Robbins, who was killed, 2 .. 12 ., o 
To Robert Phelps, wounded, 2 .. o .. o 

To Israel Willard, 2 .. o .. o 

To Joseph Wilder, i .. o .. o 

These names are all found in the company roll of Cap- 
tain Andrew Haskell. 

By casualties in their ranks therefore we have proof 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 123 

that Haskell's, Burt's and Hastings's companies were in the 
battle upon Bunker Hill. Judging from those recorded as 
died and discharged after that day, it seems probable that 
Longley's, Davis's and Bemis's commands were also in ac- 
tion. There is a tradition among old families that one or 
more companies of the Lancaster regiment were crossing 
the Neck towards the battle-ground when the retreat began, 
and that others had marched to re-enforce Prescott earlier. 

The names of soldiers who enlisted in the eight-months' 
service of 1775 are found in the so-called "Coat Rolls." 
April 23d the Provincial Congress, in establishing the'pay 
of the troops, passed a resolve that, in addition to the 
monthly stipend, "a Coat for a uniform be given to each of 
the Non-commissioned officers and Privates, as soon as the 
state of the Province will admit of it." July 5, thirteen 
thousand coats were ordered for the arm}^ each town being 
required to furnish a share of these proportionate to its last 
provincial tax. Lancaster's proportion was determined to 
be one hundred and sixteen ; Bolton's, fifty-five ; Harvard's, 
fifty-six ; Leominster's, forty-three, A certificate was or- 
dered sewn to the inside of each coat, giving the name of 
the town that furnished it, that of the maker, and the name 
of the weaver of the cloth, if home-made material was 
used. American cloth was to have preference. Soldiers 
providing their own coats were entitled to receive twenty 
shillings in money. 

The Lancaster regiment, upon the organization of the 
army for the siege of Boston, was placed in a brigade with 
the Rhode Island troops, under General Nathaniel Greene, 
forming part of the Second — General Charles Lee's — 
division. According to Paul Lunt's Diary, it joined the 
brigade Friday, July 28, and was posted on Prospect Hill. 
It was the largest of the twenty-six Massachusetts regi- 
ments before Boston. Tents were few, and each squad 
usually planned and constructed some sort of hut with such 
materials as were most easy to obtain. Turf, stone, boards, 



124 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



brick, logs and sail-cloth were wrought into rude forms of 
shelter, which, in their disorderly quaintness, may have 
been picturesque, but lacked military convenience and 
cleanliness. As an officer of the command has told us, 
the whole army, consisted of less than fifteen thousand 
militia, "without a shade of uniformity in its organization, 
pay, dress, arms or exercise, destitute of subordination and 
discipline, and fluctuating from day to day as the caprice 
of the men inclined them to absent themselves or to rejoin 
their colors." General Greene, however, is credited with 
havifig the neatest encampment and the best disciplined 
brigade in the patriot lines. With less than twenty rounds 
of powder per man, this motley aggregation of brave yeo- 
men held Boston in close siege for ten months, and finally 
compelled the dilatory Sir William Howe to take refuge in 
the British fleet. 

Captain Andrew HaskelVs Company of Lancaster. . . . 



Capt. Andrew Haskell, 

Lt. John Kindrick, 

Lt. Jonathan Sawyer, 

Ser. John Hewitt, 
" Abijah Phillips, 
" Robert Phelps, 
" Jeremiah Haskell, 
" Joshua Fairbank, 

Cor. Josiah Bowers, 
" Benjamin Houghton, 
" Ebenezer Allen, Jr. 
" Jacob Wilder, 

Drum. Nathaniel White, 

Fifer John Wheelock, 

Surgeon's c Jonas Prescott, 
Waiters ^ Abel Allen, 

Abijah Houghton, 

Abel Wyman, 

Benjamin James, 

Daniel Clark, 

Daniel Wyman, 

Against Sergeant 



Eber Sawyer, 
Elisha Rugg, 
Ebenezer Abbott, 
George Richardson, 
Gershom Flagg, 
Israel Willard, 
Joseph Phelps, 
Jacob Phelps, 
Josiah Phelps, 
Jonathan Ross, 
Joseph Wilder, 
Jacob Pike, 
Isaac Kilbourn, 
Isaac Eveleth, 
Isaac Bailey, 
John Fletcher, 
Jonathan White, 
Jotham Wilder, 
John Warner, Jr. 
Mark Heard, 



Matthew James, 
Nathan Easterbrooks, 
Peter Airs, 
Peter Manning, 
Samuel Barret, 
Stanton Carter, 
Thomas Goodwin, 
William Phelps, 
William Deputron, 
David Robbins, 
Samuel Adams, 
John Baker, 
William Cally, 
John Myres, seaman, 
David Hosley, 
Joseph Beaman, 
William Shaw, 
Benjamin Ballard, 
John Ballard, 
Winslow Phelps. 



[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 147.] 

Robert Phelps's name is recorded 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 



125 



"Wounded and in captivity, June 17 ;" against David Rob- 
bins's, "Killed on Bunker Hill June 17 ;" against Samuel 
Adams, John Baker, William Cally and John Myres is 
written: "Enlisted into the Train, May;" against David 
Hosley, Joseph Beaman and William Shaw is : "in the 
works ;" against the last three names is written : "in com- 
mand." John Ballard and Abel Wyman died in the service, 
the former of small-pox. Sergeant Jeremiah Haskell was 
an older brother of the captain. 

Captain Ephraim RichardsotCs Coinpajiy of Lancaster. 



Capt. Ephraim Richardson, 
Lt. Seth Heywood, 
Lt. Eph™. Boynton, 
Sergt. Ebenezer Pike, 

" Luther Graves, 

" Sam" Rice, 

" Falls Wills, 
Corp. Eph™. Sawyer, 

" Nath'i. Brown, 

" Mathias Larkin, 

" Elijah Dreser, 
Fifer Will. Kendall, 
Drummer John Wheeler, 
Amos Dole, Shirley. 
Aaron Glazer, Shrewsbury. 
Stephen Harris, Charlemont. 
Asa Robbinson, Lexington, 
Benj". Glazer, Arvinshier. 
Benj". Treadway, Princeton. 
Eph™. Winchupp, Lexington. 



Aaron Gary, 
Asa Rugg, 
Benj". Smith, 
Calvin Fairbank, 
David Pike, 
Eph'". Goss, 
Elijah Dole, 
Elihu Goss, Bolton. 
Jude Sawyer, 
Isaac Tower, 
Jacob Wilder, 
Israel Cook, 
Josiah Pearson, 
Joshua Whitney, 
Jonas Beaman, 
Jacob Kilburn, 
John Dunsmore, 
Israel Maning, 
Jabez Brooks, 
Joshua Kendall, 

[Mass. Archives 



Elisha Prentice, 
John English, Salem. 
John Bunn, 
James Sawyer, 
Manasah Powers, 
Reuben Moor, 
Seth Ross, 
Tho. Blodgett, 
Tho. Cleeland, 
Tho. Proser, 
Benj" Hines, 
Tho. Smith, 
Jonathan Phillips, 
Jacob Piper, 
Luther Rice, 
Asa Farrar, 
Eph™. Pike, 
James Wall, 
Joseph Savage, 
Josiah Brunson. 
, Coat Rolls, Lvi, 146.J 



Captain Richardson died in the service. Nathaniel 
Brown, Elijah Dole, Jabez Brooks, Stephen Harris and 
Thomas Smith "went to Qiiebec, September 11, 1775." 
Joseph Savage and Josiah Brunson enhsted "in the train." 
Thomas Proser and James Wall are reported deserters, in 
May. The transfers to the train were by authority of the 
Provincial Congress which, May 16, 1775, ordered that 
any officer of artillery might enlist men from any other arm 



126 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



of the service, taking, however, no more than four from 
any company. Special inducements were also given to 
those volunteering for the expedition under Colonel Bene- 
dict Arnold, which, by the route of the Kennebec and 
Chaudiere rivers, traversed the wilderness and joined Gen- 
eral Montgomery in the disastrous attack upon Quebec. 
Those who thus enlisted from Lancaster served in the com- 
pany of Captain Samuel Ward. Brooks and Brown were 
wounded, but are again found in their country's service, 
and Elijah Dole, although taken prisoner, returned in 
safety, as the following letter proves : 

To the Conunittee for Clothing the Continental Troops : 

Gentlemen : The Bearer Elijah Dole belonging to my Company in 
Colo. Asa Whitcomb's Regiment, engag'^ in the American Service imme- 
diately after the 19"' of April 1775, march'^ from Cambridge on September 
13"^ following to Quebec ; has never drav^^n a Coat according to the resolve 
of the Provincial Congress ; wou"! be glad to have the amount of it in 
money ; has appiy'^ to me to inform your Honours in his behalf. 

Seth Heywood, Lietit. 
Lancaster, Dec^ 2, 1776. 

[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVii, 15.J 

Captain yai/ies Bnrfs Compayiy, of Harvard, etc. 



Captain James Burt, Harvard. 
Lieut. Ebenezer Wood, Fitchburg. 

" Jabez Keep, Harvard. 
Adjutant Isaac Holden, Harvard. 
Sergt. Maj. Thos. Hovey, Lunenburg. 
Sergt. Thomas Hill, Fitchburg. 

" Samuel Finney, Harvard. 
Corp. William Haskell, 

" Benjamin Willard, 

" William Safford, 

" Reuben Dodge, 
Joseph Blanchard, 
Solomon Burges, 
Daniel Burt, 
Thomas Chamberlain, 
Jonathan Clark, 
Joseph Fay, 
John Sartle Farwell, 
Joel Finney, 



Jonathan Atherton, Lancaster. 
Moses Brewer, " 

Simeon Hemmenway, Bolton. 
John Bowers, Leominster. 
Abiathar Houghton, " 
Jesse Slack, " 

William Slack, " 

Jonathan Cummings, Fitchburg. 
David Goodel, 
Thomas Harris, 
John Hastings, 
Edom Lonnon, 
Joseph Simons, 
John Woods, 
Joseph Woods, 
Uriah Holt, Ashburnham. 
Abraham Hager, Shrewsbury. 
John Bennett, Westborough. 
Nathaniel Tufts, Cambridge. 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 



127 



William Harris, 
Joseph Park, 
James Turner, 
Joseph Wetherbee, 
Jeremiah Willard, 
James Willis, 
Andrew Park, 



Harvard. Abijah Eveonden, Stoughton. 

" Jonathan Stone, Mason. 

" Thomas Harris, Jr., Boston. 

" John Adam Rupp, " 

" Henry Rimer, Boston, discM Oct. 6. 

" Edw. Holowell, Lynn, deserted May. 

" died yiily 6. 
Quartermaster Jeremiah Laughton, Harvard, died August 11. 
Sergeant Israel Willard, Lancaster, died September 13. 
Jacob Davis, Harvard, discharged October 6. 
Ebenezer Flagg, Lancaster, enlisted in y<^ Train. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls. LVI, 143.] 

Captain Jonathan Davis''s Company, of Harvard, etc. 

Thomas Pratt, Harvard. 



Captain Jonathan Davis, Harvard. 
Lieut. Elisha Fullam, " 

" John Mead, " 

Sergt. Abraham Munro, " 

" Josiah Gates, " 

" Mikel Ceary, Boston. 

" William Kendall, Townsend. 

" Francis Farr, Harvard. 
Corp. Charles Warner, " 

" Thomas Etheridge, Boston. 

" Joshua Bowers, Harvard. 

" Samuel Forbush, 
Jonathan Adams, 
Ebenezer Davis, 
Josiah Davis, 
Jacob Fullam, 
Reuben Garfield, 
George Gleason, 
Solomon Haskell, 
John McCoy, 
Aaron Priest, 
Jacob Priest, 
Job Priest, 
Fifer Abijah Worster, 



Thaddeus Pollard, " 
Benjamin Robens, " 
James Robens, " 

Gideon Sanderson, " 
Isaac Sanderson, " 

Manasseh Stow, " 

Ebenezer Warner, " 
Jacob Whitney, " 

Samuel Worster, " 

Nathan Osgood, Lancaster. 
Ephraim Whitcomb, " 
Samuel White, Leominster. 
Jedediah Felt, N. Rutland. 
Joseph Putney, Ashby. 
Joseph Holden, Barrington. 
Thomas Cogney, Sandwich. 
Francis Dizer, Charlestown. 
James Rand, " 

Antony Shezzerel, " 
Gilbert Coleworthy, Boston. 
Benjamin Dolbee, " 



Ebenezer Gofe. " 

^^j'^r/^^/. George Treat, " 

Corporal Benjamin Lawrence, Harvard, died Atignst 26. 
Drummer Cyrus Fairbanks, '• discharged Sept . \i . 

[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 150.] 

Captain Benjamin Hastings'' s Company, of Bolton, etc. 

Capt. Benjamin Hastings, Josiah Coolidge, Abner Moore, 

Lieut. Jonathan Houghton, Ephraim Fairbanks, David Mooi-e, 



128 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Lieut. Jonathan Meriam, 

Sergt. Benjamin Gould, 
" Timothy Mosman, 

Corp. William Bigelow, 
" William Sawyer, 
" Israel Sawyer, 

James Bridges, 

Isaac Buck, 

John Chowen, 



John Hastings, Joseph Pratt, 

Joseph Hoar, William Ross, 

John Houghton, Benjamin Sawyer, 

Joseph Houghton, Jonas Welch. 
Abel Moore, William Whitcomb. 

Sergt. Silas Welch, died Sept. 8. 
Amos Southgate, died Sept. 21. 
Seth Muzzy, Worcester, died. 

Elisha^Houghton, Lancaster 

[Mass, Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 145.] 



Hastings's company numbered fifty-six men. Those not 
here given were from various localities, eleven being from 
Putney. 

Captain Robert Longley^s Company, of Bolton, Shirley, etc. 

John Coolidge, John Longley, Jr. 
Josiah Edwards, died. Gabriel Priest, 
Jacob French, Joseph Woods, 
Richard Hazel ton, Simon Farmer, Harvard. 
Samuel Jones, Dan'. Fleeman, Lancaster. 
[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 144.] 

There are sixty-three names upon this roll, most of those 
not here given being of Shirley. 

Captain David Wilder^s Company, of Leominster, Ashhnrnham, etc. 

Capt. David Wilder, Amos Brown, Asa Kendall, 

Lt. Josiah Gates, Ashburnham. Stephen Chace, James Boutell, 



Capt. Robert Longley, 
Sergt. Oliver Jewett, 
Corp. Gardner Moore, 

" Joseph Blood, 
Thomas Burnam, 



Lt. Timothy Boutell, 
Sergt. William Warner, 

" Josiah Carter, 
Corp. Levi Warner, 

" Samuel Buss, 

" James Butler, 
Drummer Thomas Rogers, 
Fifer Abijah Haskell, 
Charles Evans, died Sept. : 
Jonathan Kendall, 
Jonathan Colburn, 
Josiah White, 



Nathaniel Chapman, Josiah Colburn, 
Ebenezer Osgood, David Fleeman, 



David Clark, Isaac Whitmore, 

Joseph Smith, Joshua White, 

Benjamin Stearns, Luke Johnson, 

John Stone, James Wood, 

Elisha Carter, David Hale, 

Benjamin Hale, Abel Bigelow, 

Joshua Prouty, Luke Wilson, 

Zebedee Symonds, Asa Priest, 

Reuben Gates, John Battle, 

John Hale, Levi Blood 

[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 148.] 

There are sixty-eight names upon this roll, the Ash- 
burnham names being here omitted. 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 1 29 

Several soldiers of the Lancaster towns served diirino- 
the siege of Boston under other regimental commanders. 
Of Colonel Ephraim Doolittle's command there were from 
Lancaster : Surgeon Enoch Dole ; Joseph Beaman, in the 
company of Captain David Wilder of Winchendon ; Joseph 
Bailey, in Captain John Jones's Princeton company ; Jona- 
than Knowlton, in Captain Jacob Miller's Holliston com- 
pany : John Wheelock, drummer in Captain Adam Wheel- 
er's Hubbardston company. In Captain Josiah Stearns's 
Lunenburg company were these men of Leominster ; 

Sergt. Nathan Colburn, Ebenezer Houghton, Francis Parker. 

Nathaniel Evans, 

[Mass. Archives, Coat Rolls, LVI, 153-7.] 

In the regiment of Colonel Jonathan Ward and the 
company of Captain Samuel Woods of Northborough, 
were these Bolton soldiers : 

David How, Moses Hudson, Solomon Jones, 

John Hudson, Jonas Johnson, George Sawyer. 

These Leominster men were in the same regiment 
under Captain Job Cushing of Shrewsbury : 

Joshua Pierce, William Prentice. 

In the regiment of Colonel William Prescott, Moses Os- 
good served under Captain Samuel Gilbert of Littleton ; 
Phineas Whitney of Harvard, with Captain Joseph Moore 
of Groton ; Abel Wetherbee, Caleb Wetherbee and Joseph 
Swatridge of Harvard, with Captain Samuel Patch of 
Stow ; drummer Jonathan Wheelock and fifer Lemuel 
Gates of Lancaster in Captain Abijah Wyman's Ashby 
company ; Israel Davenport of Lancaster served in Cap- 
tain Joseph Butler's company of Colonel John Nixon's 
regiment. 

In Colonel Richard Gridley's regiment of artillery, 
serving under Captain John Popkin, were : 

Corporal Joseph Jones, John Baker, Simeon Hemmenway, 

Ebenezer Flagg, Joseph Blanchard, Joseph Savage. 

Samuel Adams, William Galley, 



130 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Captain Henry Haskell, who led a Shirley company of 
eighty men at the Lexington Alarm, in Colonel William 
Prescott's regiment, was at Bunker Hill commanding a 
company of seventy militia, and for meritorious service 
was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of Colonel Nich- 
olas Dike's, afterwards the Fifteenth Massachusetts regi- 
ment of the Continental army. He removed to Lancaster 
at the close of the war. 

It was generally believed that the Acadians favored the 
American cause, and it was deemed expedient to ascertain 
the exact military condition of the province of Nova Scotia 
and the disposition of its people, with the view of organiz- 
ing an expedition thither. The delicate task of making 
the investigation was entrusted in November, 1775, to 
special commissioners, Aaron Willard of Lancaster and 
Moses Child. Washington's instructions to them are to be 
found in The Writings of George Washington, iii, 169. 
Upon reaching the province the commissioners, learning 
that under recent proclamations of the Governor they were 
liable to arrest and summary treatment as spies, lost cour- 
age for further adventure and returned, reporting in Feb- 
ruary, upon hearsay evidence, that the Acadians "would 
engage in the common cause of America, could they be 
protected," and that the defences of the province were in- 
significant. [See American Archives, iv, iv, 1150.] A 
report grounded upon such insuflicient reconnoissance 
could of course afford no basis for military action. 

December i, 1775, the army was seriously weakened 
by the departure of the Connecticut troops, who insisted 
upon going home the day their term of enlistment expired. 
In order that the fortifications of Cambridge and Roxbury 
might be properly manned, General Washington besought 
re-enforcements of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, to 
the number of five thousand men, whose service should 
end January 15th. The quota of Lancaster under this call 
was tbrty-six. The following accounts lor eighteen of 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 131 

those who represented the town, but the others have not 

been found : 

Lancaster, March y*" n, 1776. 
This may certify that wee whose Names are under written Have Re- 

cev'', y*' whole of our wages while wee was under Capt. White from the 8"^ 

of December 1775, to the 17^^ of January 1776, of Lieut. Samuel Sawyer 

we say Recev"!. 

Ephraim Wilder, Nathan Geary, Jonas Baley, 
Timothy Wilder, Seth Fairbank, Ebenezer Burpee, 
Thomas May, Jr., Asa Roper, John Stuart, 

Oliver Bowker, Peter Prescott, William Palmer, 

Levi Wilder, Hiram Prescott, Joseph Seaver, 

Oliver Moore, Samuel Thompson, Mary Brooks. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, Lli, 17 a.] 

Again, in January, General Washington called upon 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut for tem- 
porary re-enforcements of militia to emphasize an offensive 
movement upon Boston. Ten regiments were asked for. 
Of the six furnished by Massachusetts, one was commanded 
by Colonel Josiah Whitney of Harvard. William Warner 
of Leominster served in this as adjutant. The quota of 
Lancaster was forty-six, of Harvard twenty-five, of Bolton 
twenty-three, of Leominster thirteen. No rolls of the 
companies are found, but the officers' names are preserved : 

Officers of a company of inilitia who re-enforced the American Army Feb- 
ruary 13, 1776: joined Col. Whitney'' s Regt. 

Nathaniel White, capt. [Lancaster.] 

JamesBurt, H^ It. [Harvard.] 

Joseph How, i<i It. [Bolton.] 

Ezra Sawyer, ensign, deceased. [Lancaster.] 

Jonathan Whitcomb, in room of Ezra Sawyer deceased. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxvili, 61.] 

The service ended April i. 

In the re-organization of the army besieging Boston, to 
bring the provincial regiments to the standard continental 
establishment, consolidation became necessary, entailing 
the discharge of many officers. Among the field officers 
dropped by the commander-in-chief after consultation with 
the division and brigade commanders, was Colonel Asa 



132 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Whitcomb of Lancaster. The reason alleged for this re- 
tirement was his advanced age. He was at this date in his 
fifty-sixth year, and other considerations may perhaps have 
had more weight in the advisory council. Colonel Whit- 
comb's great local popularity seems to have been in large 
degree due to noble qualities of heart. He was evidently 
a lovable as well as able man, a practical christian, an un- 
compromising patriot, a brave and tried soldier. While he 
may have been an unexceptional leader of men in days 
like those of Lexington and Bunker Hill, it needed but a 
brief campaign to show that he was too amiable to become 
a military disciplinarian. This weakness is plainly pointed 
at in more than one of Washington's orders, is shown 
by the record of the regiment, and is incidentally men- 
tioned in a letter from General Greene to Washington, 
dated March ii, 1776. The stor}^ of Colonel Whitcomb's 
re-instatement was told in the New London Gazette, and 
copied into the New England Chronicle for Thursday, 
January it, 1776, and other papers of the period. 

ANECDOTE. 
Deacon Whitcomb of Lancaster (who was a member of the Assembly 
of Massachusetts Bay till the present war commenced, had served in for- 
mer wars, and been in different engagements) , served as Colonel in the 
Continental Army ; but on account of his age was left out upon the new 
regulation. His men highly resented it, and declared they would not list 
again after their time was out. The Colonel told them he did not doubt 
there were sufficient reasons for the regulation, and he was satisfied with 
it ; he blamed them for their conduct, and said he would enlist as a private. 
A Colonel Brewer heard of it, and offered to resign in favour of Colonel 
Whitcomb. The whole coming to General Washington's ears, he allowed 
of Colonel Brewer's resignation in Colonel Whitcomb's favour, appointed 
the former Barrack-Master till he could further promote him, and ac- 
quainted the army with the whole affair in general orders. Let antiquity 
produce a more striking instance of true greatness of mind. 

Confirmation and correction of this story is found in a 
petition preserved in Massachusetts Archives, clxxxi, 77 : 

To the Hon . Council £r= House of Representatives in Genl. Court assevibled 
at Watertown, June \, 1776: 
The memorial of Jonathan Brewer of Waltham, in the County of Mid- 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 133 

diesex Colony aforesaid, Esq. Humbly sheweth, That no sooner were 
Hostilities commenced by the British Troops against the Liberties of 
America than he Voluntarily enter'' the Field for the Defence thereof & 
obtained of the Hon'' Congress then convened in this Colony a Colonel's 
Commission & raised a Regiment, & he flatters himself that he so behaved 
himself in that Department as to Merit the approbation of his country & 
in Perticular so distinguished himself in the Memorable Battle of Bunker 
Hill wherein he had the Honour of a command & was still continued in 
command by his excellency General Washington, after the Troops were 
taken into Continental service, and tn coinplyance with the Request of the 
Geni, he gave up his Regiment to the command of Colo. Whitcomb, and 
at the General's like Request officiated as Barrack Master General until 
some other suitable Birth should offer, in which case he had the General's 
Promise for further Promotion, and as Vacancys now exist, your memor- 
ialist being heartily inclined to serve his Country further and lend his 
assistance in this Glorious Struggle for our Invaluable Privelidges, Prays 
the Hon'' Court would Recommend him the Memorialist to the Honb''= 
Continental Congress for further Promotion. I have the Promise from 
Gen'. Washington which will be accompan^''^ with his Letters to the like 
Purpose, and as in Duty bound shall ever pray. 

J. Brewer, Col. 

Washington's order was as follows : 

Head-Quarters, Cambridge, November 16, 1775. 
Motives of economy rendering it indispensably necessary that many of 
the Regiments should be reduced, and the whole put upon a different es- 
tablishment, several deserving officers, not from any demerit, but pure 
necessity, have been excluded in the new arrangement of the Army ; 
among these was Colonel Whitcomb ; but the noble sentiments disclosed 
by that gentleman upon this occasion, the zeal he has shown in exhorting 
the men not to abandon the interest of their Country at this important 
crisis, and his determination to continue in the service even as a private 
soldier, rather than by a bad example, when the enemy are gathering 
strength, to put the public affairs to hazard — when an example of this 
kind is set it not only entitles a gentleman to particular thanks, but to 
particular rewards ; in the bestowing of which. Colonel Jonathan Brewer 
is entitled to no small share of credit, in readily giving up to Colonel 
Whitcomb the Regiment which he was appointed to command. Col. 
Whitcomb, therefore is henceforward to be considered as Colonel of that 
regiment which was intended for Colonel Brewer ; and Colonel Brewer 
will be appointed Barrack-Master until something better worth his ac- 
ceptance can be provided. 

[American Archives, iv, ill, 1614.] 

In the old army organization, of thirty-eight infantry 



134 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

regiments Colonel Whitcomb's had been the Twenty-third ; 
under the new establishment it became the Sixth Foot, 
there being twenty-seven infantry regiments in all, of eight 
companies each. Although the favor of the commander- 
in-chief had retained their old colonel in the service, his 
men nearly all returned to their homes at the expiration of 
the eight months for which they had enlisted. In the 
weekly return of January 8, 1776, the regiment numbered 
but three hundred and fort3^-seven all told, and but a single 
one of the old company officers. Captain x^bner Cranson, 
continued in the command. 

The Lancaster regiment of militia, now called the Sec- 
ond Worcester County Regiment, was re-organized in 
March, Josiah Whitney of Harvard being chosen colonel, 
Ephraim Sawyer of Lancaster, lieutenant-colonel, Silas 
Bailey of Bolton, first-major, and Ebenezer Jones, second- 
major. The line officers were commissioned as follows, 
the third and eighth companies being of Harvard, the 
fourth and seventh of Bolton, and the other six of Lan- 
caster : 

1 5 
John White, Jr., capt. Daniel Goss, capt. 
Daniel Rugg, Jr., lieut. Samuel Wilder, Jr., lieut. 
Salmon Godfrey, " Levi Wilder, " 

2 6 

John May, cai)t. Fortunatus Eager, capt. 

Timothy Heyward, lieut. Edward Newton, lietit. 

Solomon Stewart, " Jabez Fairbank, " 

3 ^ 7 
Samuel Hill, capt. David Nourse, capt. 
Amos Fairbank, lieut. Joseph Howe, lieut. 
John Daby, " William Pollard, lieut. 

4 U 8 . 
Jonathan Houghton, capt. Hezekiah Whitney, capt. 
Richard Townsend, lietd. Ephraim Davis, lieut. 
Thomas Osburn, " Jabez Keep, " 



SIEGE OF BOSTON. 135 

9 10 

Wm. Greenleaf, capt. Manassch Sawyer, capt. 

Samuel Joslin, lietit. Elisha vSawyer, Jr., lieiit. 

Nathaniel Sawyer, liciit. Ephraim Sawyer, Jr., lieiit. 

The names of many of these officers are found later in 
various short service rolls, the militia being frequently 
called upon to pi-otect the New England states from threat- 
ened invasion. In June, 1776, Ephraim Sawyer, Jr., 
received a commission as lieutenant in the Fifteenth Mas- 
sachusetts, Colonel Timothy Bigelow's regiment in the 
Continental army. Samuel Sawyer was made captain of 
the second militia company, to fill a vacancy caused by the 
removal of John May from town. 

Colonel Asa Whitcomb's regiment, which had for sev- 
eral months been in the intrenchments upon Prospect Hill, 
was transferred to the brigade of General Thomas near the 
close of January, and, on February 22, 1776, was ordered 
to Roxbury, where it occupied the mansion known as Gov- 
ernor Shirley's residence. Before dawn on March 5, the 
anniversary of the Boston Massacre, it was marched to re- 
lieve the five thousand men who had in one night, "with 
an expedition equal to that of the genii belonging to Alad- 
din's wonderful lamp" — as a British officer of distinction 
wrote home — thrown up at Dorchester Heights two re- 
doubts commanding the city of Boston. These were 
wholly built of timber and fascines, the earth being at the 
time frozen to a great depth. James Thacher, the sur- 
geon's mate of the regiment, has recorded how, upon the 
discovery of these frowning works at daylight, the forts 
and fleet of the enemy opened 'ipon them with all their 
available artillery ; 

Cannon shot are continually rolling and rebounding over the hill ; and 
it is astonishing to observe how little our soldiers are terrified hy them. . . 
The royal troops are perceived to be in motion, as if embarking to pass 
the harbor and land on Dorchester shore, to attack our works. The hills 
and elevations in this vicinity are covered with spectators to witness deeds 
of horror in the expected conflict. His Excellency General Washington 
is present, animating and encouraging the soldiers, and they in return 



136 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

manifest their joy, and express a warm desire for the approach of the 
enemy; each man knows his place, and is resolute to execute his duty. 

General Howe was prevented from the contemplated 
assault by a fierce easterly storm that lashed the waters of 
the harbor into waves too formidable for heavily laden boats 
to encounter, and the mettle of the militia was not tested. 
The day passed, the works were enlarged and strength- 
ened, and the tired regiments were relieved by others. 
The end of the long siege was evidently near at hand. 
Lancaster was to lose one more of her sons, however, be- 
fore the victory. In the Memoirs of Major-General Heath, 
under date March 9, 1776, is written : 

This night a strong detachment went down to open a work on Nook 
Hill in Dorchester still nearer to Boston. Some of the men imprudently 
kindled a iire behind the hill previous to the hour for breaking of ground. 
The enemy discovered the light of the lire ; and there was, during the 
evening and night, a continual roar of cannon and mortars from the castle 
and guns on Boston Neck, south end of that town ; as well as from the 
Americans at Roxbury, Cobble Hill and Leechmore's Point at Cambridge. 
The second shot from the British at the old fortifications south end of the 
town of Boston killed 4 Americans who were standing around the fire be- 
fore mentioned at Nook Hill ; one of whom was Dr. Dow of Connecticut. 

For Dr. Dozv should here be read Doctor Enoch Dole 
of Lancaster, surgeon of Colonel Ephraim Doolittle's reg- 
iment, as an epitaph in the old cemetery at Littleton tells : 

Here lies y*^ Body of Dr Enoch Dole of Lancaster A. E. ■})}) Years 5 
mo & 3 days, he unfortunately fell with 3 others y"^^ 9"^ of March 1776 by 
a cannon Ball from our cruel and unnatural Foes y'' British Troops while 
on his Duty on Dorchester Point. 

No warning giv'n ! Unceremonious fate ! 

A sudden rush from Life's meredian joys. 

A wrench from all we are ! from all we love 
What a change 

From yesterday !* Thy daring hope so near, 

Long laboured prize ! O how ambition flushed 

Thy glowing cheek ambition truly gi^eat, 

Of virtuous praise. 

And oh! ye last, last, what (can word express 

Thought read) ye last, last silence of a friend. 

* Meaning his entrance into Boston which so soon took Place & on which his Heart 
was much sett. 



COLONEL ASA WHITCOMB. 137 

Colonel Whitcomb's regiment was one of three detailed 
to garrison Boston, and on March 20 it entered the town, 
greeted with a joyful welcome by the impoverished citizens, 
as it marched through the squalid streets desolated by a 
ten months' siege. Comfortable quarters in unoccupied 
houses were assigned the soldiers, and as small-pox was 
prevalent the surgeons were kept busy inoculating for that 
disease. Occasional events of interest relieved the com- 
monplace of garrison duties. Thirteen vessels of the Brit- 
ish fleet, including the ship Renown of fifty guns, remained 
off" Nantasket, blockading the harbor. June 13 an expedi- 
tion under Colonel Whitcomb, and including a part of his 
regiment, embarking from Long Wharf, proceeded by 
night to Long Island, and throwing up earth-works planted 
a battery, which opened upon the surprised Commodore 
Banks in the morning and compelled him to make hasty 
departure. 

July 18, the Declaration of American Independence was 
formally proclaimed from the State House balcony, the 
commands of Colonels Whitcomb's and Paul Dudley Sar- 
gent's parading on King street in thirteen divisions, with a 
section of artillery which fired a salute of thirteen guns. 
The regiment had gone through the dangers from small-pox 
with the loss of one man only, a negro. August 7, with the 
inspiration of drum and fife and flying colors to prevent 
sorrow at enforced departure from showing too prominently, 
it marched for Ticonderoga. Arriving there about the first 
of September, it spent the winter in comfortable log huts, 
strengthening the works, and awaiting an enemy that 
showed no disposition to assault that formidable position. 
Colonel Whitcomb certainly added nothing here to his rep- 
utation as an officer. Before entering upon an account of 
the event that closed his military history, a brief sketch of 
the habits and peculiarities of the New England soldier 
may be necessary. The distinction between the military 
organizations North and South was not more marked at the 
10 



138 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

outset of our late civil war than it was in the days of 1776. 
In that earlier time, also, the Northern soldiers were to the 
Southern officer fanatics, clod-hoppers and mud-sills ; and 
the better uniformed and more rigidly disciplined Southern- 
ers were to the Northern patriots "buck-skins" and "maca- 
ronies." The heirs of Puritanism scoffed at the bumptious 
coxcombry of their Southern allies, and were stung with 
retaliatory sneers at their own bumpkin ways and stingi- 
ness. The two classes often evinced for each other a dis- 
like only less intense than that they naturally felt for the 
"lobsters," as the British regulars were nicknamed. It was 
the old, old quarrel — Stoic versus Epicurean, swaggering 
Cavalier jostling against psalm-singing Roundhead. The 
New England regiment was a voluntary association of 
equals enlisted in patriotic duty for a few months, usually 
less than a year. The ofhcers, from colonel down, were 
practically elected by the votes of their neighbors — by 
men as well educated and of as good family as themselves. 
To gain a captaincy popularity with the mass of the people 
was essential, and aristocratic lineage or mien counted 
naught. A brave, intelligent race, and passionately patri- 
otic, the soldiers excelled as pioneers or skirmishers, or 
in defensive warfare, and wherever independent action 
and judgment could most avail. Their discipline was, 
however, of the loosest description. The Southern officers 
usually stood upon an entirely different plane — recogniz- 
ing no equality with their men, accustomed to deference 
and rigidly exacting it. These otlicers, gentlemen by ac- 
cident of birth and generally by education, naturally 
viewed with prejudice the social equality displayed among 
their northern allies, and the epithet, Tankee, fell from 
their scornful lips with provoking tone and frequency. A 
Maryland subaltern wrote in his diary : 

On entering the camp near Boston I was struck with the famil- 
iarity which prevailed among the soldiers and officers of all ranks ; from 
the colonel to the private I observed but little distinction ; and I could not 
refrain from remarking to the young gentlemen with whom I made acquaint- 



COLONEL ASA WHITCOMB. 139 

ance, that the military discipline of the troops was not so conspicuous as 
the civil subordination of the community in which I had lived. 

Colonel Whitcomb is described by the surgeon of the 
regiment as "a serious, good man, but is more conversant 
with the economy of domestic life than the etiquette prac- 
tised in camp." Each officer was entitled to the services of 
a private soldier as his waiter, and a regimental commander 
had two. Colonel Whitcomb selected his own sons for this 
service, and one of them wishing to turn an honest penny 
by plying his trade of shoemaking, the good country dea- 
con saw no impropriety in allowing the cobbler's bench to 
be set up in the room he occupied as regimental head- 
quarters. This republican simplicity at once excited the 
fiercest contempt of the officers of other organizations in 
the encampment, and one night the lieutenant-colonel of 
Wayne's regiment, when half crazy with drink, made an 
assault upon the ofl:ensive bench, which having succumbed 
to his valiant sword, he knocked the colonel down, and 
ended by calling out some of his own battalion and raising 
a bloody riot. Sundry papers in Massachusetts Archives, 
CLXxxii, 205-209, give details of the shameful occurrence, 
selections from which follow : 

Deposition of Ensign Ralph H. Bowles. 
In the evening of the 25"' of Dec"" Last I Past on the Parade of Coll" 
Whitcomb's Regt, to my Lodgings & observed that the above Regt. was 
still & Quiet & Returned to my hutt to Repose myself for sleep. But 
after Being in Bed a few Moments I heard a Person Repeatedly say "Don't 
kill me," & then I heard a Person which I Thought was Coll. Whitcomb 
say "what is the Rout?" & then I started up in Order to Dress myself & 
the next answer was, "Dam you do you take his Part." & the above Coll. 
said " Don't strike me," & then I heard a Blow, & I Repard to the Door 
of the hutt & saw Collo. Whitcomb on the Ground & Lt Collo. Craig 
kicking him & striking him with his sword Drawn & then I Looking toward 
Major Whiting's hutt saw two Men with Drawn Swords in their hands 
which was off''^ & a Number of soldiers with them of the second Pennsyl- 
vania Battalion & some of them with Guns, & their Language was "Dam 
the Yankeys," & Began to demolish the hutt that I lodged in. But by 
speaking to them they Quitted & advanced to the hutt of Capt. Danforth 
& then 1 Repared to the Markee of Doctor Townsend. But hearing Lt 



140 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Coll° Craig say to the second Pennsylvania Battalion, "Dam you turn 
out," & in a very short Time a Number of Armed Men with Bayonetts 
fixt came from the said Battalion headed by said CoUo. & then entering 
the hutts of oflf'^^ & soldiers Plundering & Firing into the same & Darning 
& stricking both off'"''. & soldiers that was Peacably in their hutts. & after 
Marching several times acrost the Parade they Returned to their Habita- 
tions. Ralph H. Bowles, Ensign. 

Deposition of Captain Leniticl Trescot. 
I Lemuel Trescott Late of Coll" Whitcomb's Regiment testify and de- 
clare that on the evening of the 25''" day of Dec 1776, being at Ticonder- 
oga I was in my tent & heard a noise as of somebody fighting with swords, 
upon which I turned out of my tent & saw Lt. Col. Craige calling upon his 
men to turn out. I also heard him order s'^. men so turned out to fire 
upon Coll Whitcomb's encampment which they accordingly did & com- 
mitted great disorder there, in a riotous and hostile manner passed thro sd 
encampment abusing all they met with. The deponent further said that 
he saw sd Craige personally abuse sd Whitcomb, calling him "damned 
old scoundrel," that he took him by the ear pulled him & with his drawn 
sword or cutlass, as the deponent supposed, cut the sd Whitcomb's ear, & 
otherwise so abused him as to leave him in a most bloody condition, and 
all this outrage committed by said Craige appeared to me to be without 
any provocation from any person whatsoever. 

Lemuel Trescot. 

At the close of a similar deposition, from Major Daniel 
Whiting of Dedham, is this statement : 

Col Whitcomb immediately entered a complaint against the 

said Thomas Craige to the Commandant & the said Thomas was arested, 
but as Col° Whitcomb was obliged to return home, & the Tryal of the said 
Thomas was not likely to take place soon, the said Col" Whitcomb with- 
drew his complaint so far as concerned himself & received satisfaction for 
himself of the said Thomas. 

James Thacher gives a whimsical account of how this 
satisfaction was managed : 

Colonel C. sent some soldiers into the woods to shoot a fat bear, with 
which he made an entertainment, and invited Colonel W. and his ofificers 
to partake of it ; this effected a reconciliation ; and Colonel W. was in- 
duced to overlook the high-handed assault upon his own person and on the 
lives of his soldiers. 

How many and what Lancaster men followed the fortunes 
of the regiment to the end of its service, the rolls that are 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. I41 

extant are insufficient to show ; but they were doubtless 
very few. The consolidation, and expiration of brief terms 
of enlistment, totally changed the regimental roster, so that 
not one of the original Lancaster officers is found at Ticon- 
deroga. Colonel Whitcomb's services ended April i, i777» 
and he returned to his farm, then the largest in the second 
precinct of the town. He experienced some trouble, be- 
cause of imperfect records, in settling his accounts as Pay- 
master-General of the Massachusetts forces, an office which 
he held for some time during the siege of Boston. No sus- 
picion, however, of his entire integrity, his unselfish patri- 
otism, or his bravery, ever dimmed his reputation. Before 
the close of the war he removed to Princeton, served that 
town in the legislature, and there he died March 16, 1804, 
at the ripe age of eighty-four years. 



IV. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776— TOWN ANNALS 1776-8. 

After the departure of the American army serious ap- 
prehensions arose lest the British should return to re-occupy 
Boston. The militia were therefore summoned to the 
defence of the coast and harbor ; while the continental 
regiments which had been left in occupation of the city 
constructed defensive fortifications about it. To garrison 
Hull and other important points in the approaches to the 
harbor, two battalions were raised in April, 1776, the com- 
plement of each being fixed at eight companies of ninety 
men. They were commanded by Colonels Josiah Whitney 
and Thomas Marshall. A memorial of the Harvard col- 
onel, found in Mass. Archives, clxxxi, 293, dated "Camp 
at Hull, Oct. 29, 1776," complains that his men are not 
paid "continental pay" as are other troops about them, but 
the smaller stipend allowed by the provincial laws. He 
states that the battalion took the field early in the spring, 
and that their duty has been hazardous and fatiguing. In 



142 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



this regiment Captain William Warner of Winchendon 
commanded a company, in which were : 



Lieut. Jonathan Sawyer, 
Sergt. Abijah Phillips, 
Drum''. John Wheeler, 
John Chowen, 
Nathan Esterbrooks, 

Sergt. Benjamin Stearns, 
Corp. Jonathan Kendall, 

" David Clark, 
John Bowers, 
Silas Carter, 

Levi Gates, 



LANCASTER SOLDIERS. 

Jeremiah Haskell, 
Samuel Jewett, 
Samuel Johnson, 
Thomas Kendall, 
John Manning, 

LEOMINSTER SOLDIERS. 

Nathaniel Evans, 
Edward Fuller, 
Israel Hale, 
Robert Houghton, 
David Johnson, 

BOLTON SOLDIERS. 

Ezra Whitcomb, 
Simeon Gates, 

HARVARD SOLDIERS. 



Peter Manning, 
John Nichols, 
Moses Osgood, 
Edward Thomas, 
Robert Younger. 

Joseph Robbins, 
Silas Smith, 
Phillip Sweetser, 
William Warner. 



Silas Whitcomb. 



Joseph Fry, William Stevens. 

In Captain Aaron Guild's company of the same regi- 
ment were : 

LANCASTER SOLDIERS. 

Benjamin Ballard, Amos Rugg, Daniel Wyman. 

John Bowers, Jonathan Wheelock, 



Robert Townsend. 



BOLTON SOLDIERS. 

Richard Hazel tine, Benjamin Sawyer, 

Willard Moore, Joseph Sawyer, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XXIII, 200; XXIV, 17-83; xxv, 53.] 

In Colonel Thomas Marshall's battalion, at Hull, was a 
company of seventy-nine men, commanded by Captain 
Andrew Haskell of Lancaster, in which were the following : 

LANCASTER MEN. 

William Ball, 
Thomas Bennett, 
John Coolidge, 
Francis Davis, 
Gershom Flagg, 
John Fletcher, 
William Flood, 
Thomas Houghton, 



Capt. Andrew Haskell, 
Lieut. John Hewitt, 
Sergt. Jonas Johnson, 

" David Hosley, 
Corp. Elisha Rugg, 

" John Willard, 
Drum'". Benjamin James, 
John Baker, 
David Baldwin, 



Carter Knight, 
Daniel Knight, 
Judah Piper, 
William Richardson, 
Levi Warner, 
John Warner, 
Enoch Whitcomb, 
Jotham Wilder, 
James Willard. 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 143 

LEOMINSTER MEN. 

James Boutell, Abiathar Houghton, Benjamin Stewart, 
John Buss, Michael Nichols, John Stone, 
Graves, Levi Phelps, James Wilder. 

HARVARD MEN. 

Simon Farmer, Jonathan Simons, Consider Turner. 

BOLTON MEN. 

Corporal Joseph Wood, John Barnard. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxv. 71.] 

John Whitcomb and Samuel Baily of Lancaster were 
"at the castle." 

A resolve of the General Court, June 25, 1776, respon- 
sive to a request of the Continental Congress for five thou- 
sand militia to co-operate with the armies at New York 
and in the department of Canada, made it incumbent upon 
Lancaster to furnish seventy-two men. To Harvard were 
allotted thirty-six, to Bolton thirty-three, to Leominster 
twenty-four. A bounty of three pounds was promised each 
volunteer, and eighteen shillings were allowed each soldier 
for the use of arms and accoutrements, if furnishing them 
himself. The term of service ended December i, 1776. 
Four battalions were destined for Canada, and three, in- 
cluding all companies from Worcester county, were to 
serve at New York in the brigade of General John Fellows. 
Captain Samuel Sawyer of Lancaster with eighty, Captain 
Jabez Keep of Harvard with eighty-two, and Captain Jon- 
athan Houghton of Bolton with seventy-five men marched 
July 22, to join their regiment, which was commanded by 
Colonel Jonathan Smith. The lieutenant-colonel, Robert 
Longley, and the surgeon, Daniel Greenleaf, were citizens 
of Bolton. These companies, entering service for four 
months, contained a few soldiers of experience, but con- 
sisted chiefly of a hasty levy of farmers fresh from the 
furrowed fields, knowing nothing of camp discipline and 
little of the value of system and co-operation. They might 
have defended intrenchments with success, but could not 
withstand the onset in open field of the splendidly equipped 



144 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



and disciplined Hessian corps. They participated in the 
unfortunate affair of Kips Bay, September 15. Captain 
Sawyer's order book has been preserved in the state 
archives. The roll of his company, nearly all of Lancas- 
ter, follows : 



Capt. Samuel Sawyer, 

Lieut. Salmon Godfrey, 

2<i Lieut. Nath'. Sawyer, 

Ensign Ebenezer Belknap, 

Sergt. Benj". Parkings, 
" Elisha Allen, 
" Joseph Fairbanks, 
" Artemas Maynard, 

Corp. John Bennitt, 
'* Amos Knight, 
" Samuel Chirchel, 
" Elijah Bawl, 

Drummer Seth Ross, 

Fifer Calvin Kilburn, 

Peter Airs, 

Jonathan Wilder, 

Samuel Carter, 

John Brooks, 

Reuben Lipingwell, 

Timothy Stearns, 

David Whitcomb, 

Jacob Swear, 

Benjamin Priest, 

James Clerk, 

Jonas Brooks, 

John Thurston, 

Samuel Johnson, 



Joseph Houghton, 
Ephraim Cheney, 
Simeon Burt, 
Joseph Beaman, 
Samuel Holman, 
Levi Wilder, 
Calvin Moor, 
Hezekiah Whetcomb, 
David Houghton, 
Jonathan Ross, 
Joseph Wilder, 
Jacob Phelps, 
Samuel Bowers, 
Joshua Rugg, 
John Bowers, 
Thomas Mears, 
Edmund Larkin, 
Asa Priest, 
Joseph Hoar, 
Thomas Hale, 
Jasher Wyman, 
Samuel Flood, 
Shubal Bayley, 
Elisha Whitney, 
Benjamin Smith, 
Nathaniel Jones, 



Elijah Wilder, 
John Joslyn, 
Nathan Parmiter, 
Josiah Winn, 
Jacob Piper, 
William Fairbank, 
Abel Bigelo, 
Daniel Page, 
Jonas Rice, 
Roger Bartlitt, 
Luther Rice, 
Thomas Blodget, 
Stanton Brown, 
Joseph Bennitt, 
Nathaniel Beaman, 
Joseph Wood, 
Jonathan Emerson, 
Aaron Glazier, 
Abner Moors, 
Ephraim Rugg, 
Nathaniel White, 
Jonas Wyman, 
Ephraim Powers, 
Joseph Persons, 
Abel Wright, 
Jacob Robbins. 



Jacob Piper, David Houghton, Stanton Brown and Eph- 
raim Rugg were reported "missing September 15, on the 
retreat from New York." As their names do not again 
appear during the war, it is probable that they were killed 
or captured at Kip's Bay. Benjamin Smith died October 
15 ; Josiah Winn and Hezekiah Whitcomb on November 
8 ; and John Bennett at a date unrecorded. Corporal 
Knight and Joseph Beaman were discharged November 12. 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 



145 



These men may have been wounded in some of the engage- 
ments in which the brigade is known to have taken part. 
Among the regimental orders, one dated September 6 is 
characteristic of the times : 

Jonas Brooks, soldier in Capt. Sawyer's Company, convicted by Regi- 
mental Court Martial, whereof Capt. Dewey was President, of theft. Sen- 
tenced Him to Receive fifteen Lashes on the Naked Back and to Return 
stolen goods to the owner. The Col. approves the above sentence, and 
orders it to be put into Execution at the Head of the Regiment at Halfe 
after 5. O. clock in the afternoon, then to be Discharged and Return to his 
Duty. 

Corporal punishment was of quite frequent occurrence, 
but, except for the very gravest offences, no more than 
thirty-nine lashes were ever inflicted. The regimental 
drum-major was charged with the duty of carrying out the 
sentence, and by his collusion the punishment was some- 
times only severe in the disgrace attached to it. Surgeon 
James Thacher relates that the victims about to come under 
the cat customarily placed a lead bullet between their teeth, 
which was supposed to help them in concealing lack of for- 
titude in suflering. 

The roll of Captain Jabez Keep has not been found. 
That of Captain Jonathan Houghton is in the orderly book 
of Nathaniel Longley, Mass. Archives, Worcester Rolls, 
Lvi, and LV, 20, 22, 25. The majority of the company 
were from Westborough and Northborough. The Bolton 
names are these : 



Capt. Jonathan Houghton, 
Sergt. Samuel Baker, 

" William Sawyer, 
Corp. Nathaniel Longley, 
Silas Bailey, 
William Bigelow, 
Samuel Blood, 
Adam Bartlet, 
Benjamin Bruce, Jr. 
Benjamin Bruce, 
Daniel Bruce, 



Jonas Bruce, 
Benjamin Gould, 
John Greenleaf, 
John Hastings, 
John Houghton, 
Edward Johnson, 
Jonas Johnson, 
Solomon Jones, 
Joseph Keyes, 
John Longley, 
David Maynard, 



Levi Meriam, 
Stephen Pratt, 
Eliakim Rice, 
William Ross, 
Joseph Rugg, 
George Sawyer, 
Jesse Walcot, 
Deliverance Wheeler, 
William Whitcomb, 
Ephraim Whitney. 



146 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



The General Court, July 10, 1776, ordered two regi- 
ments to be raised to strengthen the northern army under 
General Philip Schuyler at Ticonderoga, by drafting every 
twenty-fifth man of the train band and alarm lists. When 
the Council sought colonels for these regiments, Aaron 
Willard and Samuel Brewer were selected. Captain Aaron 
Willard, Jr., scarred with the terrible wound received at the 
battle of Ticonderoga in ij^58, lived in Lancaster, a near 
neighbor to his noted cousins, Abijah, Levi and Abel. 
Unlike them, however, he was an ardent patriot. He ac- 
cepted the colonelcy proffered him, but by accident " put 
his knee out of joint," and his command was led to its des- 
tination by other field officers. (See Council Records, xix, 
141, 156, 167, 207.) 

The Lancaster men were not, however, in that com- 
mand. August 18, Captain Manasseh Sawyer marched 
with ninety-two men, drafted under the order of July 10, 
from Lancaster and neighboring towns. The company 
served for eight months, being for most of the time sta- 
tioned at Dorchester Heights, and attached to the regiment 
of Colonel Nicholas Dike, of which Henry Haskell was 
lieutenant-colonel. Enrolled in this company were : 



OF LANCASTER. 

Nathaniel Burpee, 
Stanton Carter, 
Reuben Geary, 
Darius Harvey, 
James Houghton. Jr. 
Nathaniel Houghton, 
Thomas Houghton, 
Joshua House, 
Benjamin May, 
Levi May, 
Samuel Mosman, 

OF LEOMINSTER. 

Ensign Josiah Carter, Thomas Joslin, 

Sergeant Jeremiah Underwood, Jacob Spafford, 
David Boutell, 



Captain Manasseh Sawyer, 
Corporal John Loring, 

" Elias Farnsworth, 
Drummer Timothy Wilder, 
Fifer Oliver Bowker, 
" Elisha White, 
David Bennett, Jr. 
William Boardman, 
David Amory Boynton, 
Ebenezer Burpee, 
Elijah Burpee, 



David Pike, 
Nathaniel Roper, 
Thomas Sawtell, 
Abner Sawyer, 
Thomas Sawyer, 
John Snow, 
Joseph Wheelock, 
Ephraim Wilder, 
Joshua Willard, 
John Winn. 



Joseph Sweetser, 
Philemon Sweetser, 
John Whitcomb. 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 



147 



Sergeant Gardner Moore, 

" Abel Piper, 
Corporal Henry Powers, 
Joseph Amsden, 
John Barnard, 
William Coolidge, 
James Fife, 

Sergeant Daniel Laugh ton, 
Corporal Reuben Conant, 
Joseph Atherton, 
John Hill, 
John Laughton, 



OF BOLTON. 

David Hemmenway, 
Nathaniel Holman, 
Jonas Houghton, 
Jesse Jewett, 
John Moore, 
Abel Priest, 

OF HARVARD. 

Philemon Priest, 
Jonathan Puffer, 
Benjamin Stow, 
Manasseh Stow, 



John Powers, 
Peter Stanhope, 
Abel Whitcomb, 
Richard Whitcomb, 
Abel Wilder, 
Paul Wilson. 



Abel Wetherbee, 
Amos Wetherbee, 
Josiah Whitney, 
Salmon Whitney. 



In Captain John Hartwell's company of the same regi- 
ment were : 

OF LANCASTER. 

Benjamin Farmer, John Priest, 

Simon Farmer, Benjamin Priest, 

John Nicholls, John Warner, 

Eleazar Priest, Daniel WilJard. 



Sergeant Sam. Dickenson, 
Nathan Easterbrook, 
William Flood, 
Daniel Fleeman, 



OF HARVARD. 



Samuel Farnsworth, 



Joseph Farnsworth. 



Joshua Johnson was in Captain Joseph Stetson's com- 
pany, and Benjamin Warner, of Harvard, in Captain 
Bang's company of this regiment. Ebenezer Prescott of 
Lancaster died October 15, 1776, at Dorchester, in the 
service. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, in, 148, 174, 176, and xxvi, ■j'j, 419-422.J 

A few Lancaster men are found credited as serving in 
the Canada expedition of 1776: Jacob Bennett and John 
Johnson in Captain Lamb's company : William Flood and 
John Moore in Captain Morgan's ; Sergeant Luther Fair- 
banks in Captain Topham's ; Elij'ah Dole in Captain 
Ward's. 

In the regiment of militia commanded by Colonel James 
Converse of Brookfield, of which Ephraim Sawyer of 



148 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Lancaster was lieutenant-colonel, the following officers 
were serving at Dobb's Ferry and Tarrytown : 



Capt. Daniel Goss, of Lancaster 
Lieut. Jabez Fairbank, do. 
Lieut. Joseph How, of Bolton. 



Capt. Samuel Hill, of Harvard. 
Lieut. Simon Cooper, do. 
Lieut. Luke Richardson, Leominster . 
[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, Lli, 46.] 

No roll of their companies is found. 

Captain David Nurse, with a company of sixty-four 
men, nine of whom were from Princeton, the rest from 
Bolton and Harvard, served, "in the Jerseys," from Decem- 
ber 12, 1776, to March 26, 1777. The following is a copy 
of his roll : 



Capt. David Nurse, 
Lieut. Ephraim Davis, 
Lieut. Thomas Mason, 
Sergt. Simeon Willard, 
" David Moore, 
" Isaac Norcross, 
" John Townsend, 
Corp. Philemon Priest, 
" Isaac Moore, 
" Charles Warner, 
" Levi Fairbank, 
Drum''. Jacob Norcross, 
Fifer Barnabas Sawyer. 
Carpenters, James Burt, 
William Burt, 
John Wilson, 
Phineas Warner, 
Joseph Houghton, 
William Ross, 
Oliver Willard, 
Teamsters, John Trask, 
Jeremiah Bridge, 
Joseph Blanchard, 



Teamsters, 

Samuel Davis, 
William Parkis, 
Joseph Fry, 
Jabez Keep, 

Privates, 

Solomon Haskell, 
Stephen Whitney, 
Josiah Hovey, 
Jotham Johnson, 
Dwelly Turner, 
Daniel Gibbs, 
W'". Stevens, died. 
Simon Whitney, 
Joshua Mosman, 
Jona. Whitcomb, 
Jotham Whitcomb, 
Jabez Fairbanks, 
John Hill, 
Joseph Woods, 
George Sawyer, 
Joseph Keys, 



Oliver Mosman, 
John Cooledge, 
Joseph Sawyer, 
Carter Knights, 
Josiah Maynard, 
Joseph Gibbs, 
William Chace, 
Abel Harrington, 
Jonathan Farnsworth, 
Benjamin Bridges, 
Jonathan Symonds, 
Abel Baker, 
Abel Priest, 
Samuel Atherton, 
Manasseh Farnsworth, 
Jonathan Hutchins, 
John Whitney, 
Robert Townsend, 
John Burnam, 
Thomas Burges, 
Luther Parmenter, 
Joseph Ward. 



[Papers of Capt. David Nurse.] 



The inconveniences and serious dangers incident to the 
system of short enlistments popular in New England — 
and at first favored generally through dread of a standing 
army — had long been a source of disquiet to Washington. 



Captain, 


$40.00 


Sergeant, $8.00 


Adjutant, 


40.00 


Corporal, 7.33 


Lieutenant, 


27.00 


Drummer and Fifer, 7.2,3 


Ensign, 


20.00 


Privates, 6.67 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. I49 

Congress, reluctantly convinced of the decay of that mar- 
tial spirit which had characterized the outbreak of revolu- 
tion, at length saw that the depleted ranks of the patriot 
army must be permanently filled and rigid discipline en- 
forced, or success was hopeless. In the autumn of 1776 
every exertion was put forth to replace the state militia 
whose terms of service expired during the year, with reg- 
ular troops enlisted for three years or during the war. To 
encourage volunteering, twenty dollars bounty, one suit of 
clothes per year, and one hundred acres of land were 
promised each soldier enlisting for the war. The monthly 
pay of the troops, in addition to subsistence, was established 
as follows : 

Colonel, $75.00 

Lieut, -Colonel, 60.00 
Major, 50.00 

Surgeon, 33 33 

The army was re-organized into eighty-eight battalions 
of infantry, of six hundred and eighty men each ; and the 
proportion demanded of Massachusetts was fifteen regi- 
ments, or more than one-sixth of the whole number to be 
raised. December 27, 1776, sixteen additional infantry 
battalions were authorized, three of which were assigned 
to Massachusetts. To hasten enlistments, which were at 
first discouragingly slow, the province also ofi'ered a bounty 
of twenty dollars, and promised to make good any de- 
ficiency caused by depreciation of the paper currency in 
which wages were paid. The quota of each town was 
fixed, one man in every seven being required for service. 
As time went on, the selectmen or a specially chosen com- 
mittee were authorized to bid for recruits, and offered 
special bounties even for the shorter terms of service ; and 
individuals who were drafted often hired substitutes for the 
whole or part of a "turn of duty." Many receipts for such 
bounty and substitution are extant, a few specimens of 
which are here given : 



150 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster, Feb: y^: i^': 1777. 
Received of Levi More twelve Pounds for going into the three year 
service. Luther Fairbanks. 

Lancaster, April 26, 1777. 
This may Certify that I have Rec"^ of Mr. Peter Thurston the sum of 
Ten Dollars for Doing two months' Service to Rhode Island for him. 

Witnes my hand Josiah Phelps. 

Attest Luke Wilder. 

Lancaster, January 31, 1777. 
Then ReC^ of Thomas Gates the sum of six pound thirteen Shillings 
and four pence for Doing a turn in the Continental Servis, Eighteen 
months from the Date hearof as Witnes my hand. 

Danel Wyman. 

Lancaster, June 21 Day, 1776. 

These may Sertyfay whome it may Consarn that Dannel Wyman this 
day have Inlisted under me In the Arme, In behalf of Cap Thomas Gatts 
and Exsepted by the Subscriber to do a turn for the above Cap Gatts. 

In aknogement whairof Timo Mosman, Leftetiant. 

test. John Moore Josiah Whitney Col. 

Lancaster, June 21, 1776. 
I Received of Capt. Thomas gatts three pounds in full for doing a turn 
for him till the first day of December next as witnes my Hand 
test. John Moore. Danel Wyman 

Bolton, August the i : 1776. then Rec'^ of 
Lieut. James Goddard Eight pound for half a turn of Soldring a-going to 
Canaday. I say ReC^ By me Ezekeil Fosgat. 

Occasionally a learned medical authority was invoked 
to aid some citizen in escaping from military duty : 

this may Sartify the Gentelmen whom it may Concarn that Mr John 
Nurse has a wickness in his Eye and is Lame and by Reson of them things 
in my Judgement is not fitt to Do Duity as a Solger in the malishea 
Stow Aug' 21''' 1776 Charles Whitman Phasihion 

But John paid a substitute, in spite of the "Phasihion," 
and got this receipt : 

This may certify that I Solomon Jones Received two pounds twelve 

shillings and six Pence of John Nurse for doing a quarter of a turn in the 

Continental Service to be done at New York. 

Solomon Jones. 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 151 

Bolton, July y« 2^^. 1776 
Then Rec''. of my Honoured Father Sam" Baker Twelve pounds Includ- 
ing the Bounty of three pounds From this Govrment For my Intring into 
the Service of s*! Cont Govrment in an Expedition to New York in y« 
Room and Stead of Abel Baker a minor and Son of my said Father. 
Rec'^ p me Samll. Baker Jr. 

Occasionally the bondman's services were sold by his 
master in behalf of the nation's freedom : 

Waltham, May 23'^ 1777 
Then Received of Joseph How and Eliakim Atherton the sum of Thirty 
Pounds 1. m. for my Servent negro man Named York Rugles who Has in- 
listed and passed muster Before Coll. James Barrat of Concord for the 
tarm of three years in Cap Ashley's Company of Coll. Badison's [Patter- 
son's] Rigement in the Continental armey. I further Promis and Say that 
my Negro York I sett to the afors'i How and Atherton to do a turn for Bol- 
ton in the Continental armey as witnis my hand. [Signature missing.] 

To insure the correct apportionment of quotas through- 
out the commonwealth, a census of the male citizens of 
military age was ordered, returns of which were made to 
the Secretary of State and the commander of the military 
district to which the town belonged. 

Lancaster, Sept. 8, 1777, State of Massachusetts Bay. 
According to a Resolve of this state of Dec. 9, 1776, Directed to the 
Selectmen to take the Number of their Male Inhabitants from sixteen 
years old and upwards, and Deliver the same into the Secretary's office on 
or before the Last Day of January 1777, in Compliance with orders Rec*!. 
from the general assembly Dated July 3, 1777, Directed to the Selectmen 
to make a Return of all the male Inhabitants from sixteen years old and 
upwards, the amount of the whole of the male inhabitants in the town of 
Lancaster at Dec. 9 1776, was six Hundred and fifty-nine; the selectmen 
would inform the hon'able court that we Never Rec^ any orders from the 
assembly Before that Baring Date July 3, 1777, therefore we Beg to be 
excused from any Neglect in Regard to orders from said assembly. 

Ephm. Wilder, 1 ,, , 

,,, „ iieLectmen 

W". Greenleaf, I 

Solomon Jewett, f , ■' 
^T T) Lancaster. 

' Nath. Beaman, I 

[Sworn to before "W"'. Dunsmoor, Justice Peace." 

[Massachusetts Archives, CLXI, 148, 154.] 

There is added in the return to Colonel Josiah Whitney, 
"and thirteen nejjroes". 



152 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

The revolutionary action of Lancaster town-meetings, 
all too briefly recorded by the town clerk, has been copied 
in former pages to the close of the year i775' At the an- 
nual March meeting in 1776, among the officers regularly 
elected were the "Committee of Correspondence and 
Safety," consisting of these nine men : 

Cyrus Fairbank, Jabez Fairbank, David Wilder, 

Josiah Kendall, Jr. Ephraim Sawyer, Jonathan Wilder, 

Ebenezer Allen, William Dunsmoor, Esq. Joshua Fletcher. 

Warrant for Town Meeting on the Last Monday of Sepr. 1776. . . . 
Worcester County, in the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay. To the 
Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Lancaster — Greeting. 
In the Name of the people and authority of the American States: 
You are hereby Notify'^ and warn'i to meet at the Meeting-house in the first 
parish in Lancaster on the Last of this Instant September at 9 O. Clock in 
the forenoon then and there to Act on the following Articles. 

jstiy To Chuse a moderator for the Goverment of said Meeting. 
2'1'y. To see if the Town will Raise money to hire men to go into the 
Service against our Enemies, whenever we have orders from the Congress 
and Gen'. Court to turn out Men for that End. 

3. To see if the Town will Vote to have the Money asses'^ and made 
into a Rate as our other Sums are Rais*! to Defray Town Charges pro- 
vided there sh<i. Be a Sum Rais^^ for that purpose above mentioned. 

4. To See if the Town will Chuse a Committee to provide men from 
time to time with said Money if sent for. Or act any thing Relative 
the\^to as the Town shall think proper. 

5 . To see if the town will allow and Except of the Receipts & Certificates 
of those that have paid out money to Get Men to go into the Service 
against our Enemies & Let Each man draw his Respective sum or sums 
out of the Town Treasure when said money is Colected. 

6. To See if the Town will Come into any measure Concerning those 
that have Done a Turn in this War, Longer or shorter without being hir'' : 
without any Bounty in Money for Encouragement from the province, this 
being Request of Phineas Beaman and others. 

7. To See if the Town will Chuse a person agreeable to a Late Act of 
the Gen'. Court provid? a Speedy and Cheep Course for Receive of Debts. 

gtwy. To See if the Town will Make Choice of a County Treasurer. 
9. To See if the Town will Make Choice of a County Register. 

Daniel Robbins, T. Clerk. 
Dated at Lancaster, Sep"" 12"'. 1776. 

At the meeting thus warned the propositions of Beaman 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1776. 153 

and his abettors were dismissed without comment recorded. 
To satisfactorily equalize payments for patriotic duty per- 
formed, proved undoubtedly a difficult problem — as it has 
to many wise bodies since. Doctor William Dunsmoor was 
chosen "to Take Cognisance of Debts." The next town- 
meeting was specially summoned on Monday, the seventh 
of October. 

.... 2. To Consider and determine wether you will give y'' Consent 
that the present house of Representatives of this State of the Massachu- 
setts Bay in New England together with the Counsel aforesaid if they 
Consent in one Body with the house & by Equal Voice, should consult, 
agree on & enact such a Constitution & form of Government for this State 
as the said house of Representatives & Counsel as aforesaid on the fullest 
and most mature deliberation shall judge will most conduce to the safety 
& peace & hapiness of this State in all after Sucessions & Generations & 
if you would direct the same to be made publick for the Inspection & 
perusal of the Inhabitants before ratification thereof by the Assembly. 

At this meeting it was 

Voted that the Town Impower the present house of Representatives to 
Draw up a Form of Goverment and Transmit Back for the Town's Ratifi- 
cation. 

The same day Doctor William Dunsmoor was elected 
representative. The next four pages of the town's records 
are occupied by a copy of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, which Congress had ordered should be read by the 
clergymen in each parish " as soon as Divine Service is 
Ended in the Afternoon of the first Lord's Day after they 
shall have Received it," and then be recorded by the town's 
clerk in the Town Book, "there to Remain as a perpetual 
Memorial thereof." The leading article in the warrant for 
a town-meeting, held the sixth day of January, 1777, was 
as follows : 

2'i'y. To see if the Town will come into some methods for ye Provid- 
ing men to reinforce the American army as they shall be Cal'd for from 
time to time by Authority in order for ye Defence of our Enestemable Lib- 
erties, either by a Just Assessment according as other Taxes are made, or 
some other way which shall be most Advantageous to the Publick in gen- 
eral and for this Town in Particular, and in general to act and Transact 
11 



154 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

all matters and things which shall appear for ye Peace and Prosperity of 
this Town — it being y^ Request of Mr Jonathan Wilder and others. . . . 

When the town met, it was 

Voted, to Consider what Each man has Done in the war sence ye 19"^ 
April 1775 and make a Proper Allowance to each man for what he has 
Done to this time. 

Voted to Chuse a Committee to Estemate what Each man has Done 
towards ye war sence ye 19* of April 1775 to this time and also what they 

will give a month for the Futer to Each man Chose Capt. W'". 

Greenleaf, Capt. W™. Putnam, Samuel Thustin, Capt Jonathan Wilder, & 
Caleb Whitney to make ye above Estemation 

January ye T.of''- \']'j'] then meet according to Adjourmnent 

I'y. Voted, that the Commision officers be excluded from having any 
bounty from ye town. 

2'y. Voted, to accept the Estemation of y^ Committee. 

3^y. Voted to Chuse a Committee to Receive the Certificates of those 
that have Done Service. 

4'y. Voted that the Commision officers be a Committee to Receive 

the Diffrante Certificates & Recpt^ of y<^ men in servis 

At adjoiirtied meeting First Tuesday in Feb^. 

Voted that those Persons that Belongeth to either of y'' Company^ in 
Lancaster that have omitted bringing in their Certificates & Recpts at this 
time shall be Intitled to Lay their several Certificates & Recpts before the 
Respective officers. 

Voted not to Raise a sum of money to encorage y^ solders to go into 
ye servis according to the Estimation Drawn up by the Committee Chose 
for that Purpos 

At an adj our 7ied meeting held on Tuesday the 11 day of March 1777. 

Voted and Chose Col. Asa Whitcomb, Capt Thomas Gates, Joshua 
Fletcher, Elisha Allen, Jabez Fairbank, as a Committee of Correspondence 
and Safety in Lancaster. 

The warrant for the town-meeting of November 24, 
1777, had special reference to two matters of recent legis- 
lative action, and the freeholders were : 

2"'i'y. To take into Consideration the Late act made for Puting 

Large Sums of the Bills of Credit Emitted by this State on Intrest on or 
before the first Day of January Next, and to act or Transact anything Re- 
lating said act as they shall think Proper 

4"^^y. to See if the town will act on a Resolve of this State of Sep'' 29 
1777 of Supplying the families of Such Persons, Non Commisioned offi- 
cers and Soldiers in the Continental Service for three years or During the 
war 



RHODE ISLAND SERVICE. 155 

The meeting having expressed its hostility to the act 
concerning the Bills of Credit, chose Colonel Asa Whit- 
comb, John Prescott, Frederick Albert, Jonathan Fairbank 
and Thomas Fairbank a committee to draw up a statement 
of the matter, and then — 

ythiy^ Voted to accept the Committees Report, which is as followeth : 
this Town Taking into Consideration the Late act made for Putting Large 
Sums of the bills of Credit Emitted by this State on intrest on or before 
the first Day of December Next, and for Sinking in the hands of the Pos- 
sesors all Sums Less than ten Pounds Excepting those bills Less than one 
Dollar. Therefore this town are Clearly of oppinion that said act in Con- 
nection with a Tax we understand is soon to Come out is a grevence we 
Look upon greater than to Sink Said Money by a Tax or Taxes, as the 
People are Able to Bare ; and Further we Look upon it Very Extrodanary 
that Said Court Should Lay a Fine on the Tendering sd money when at 
the same time the face of sd bill saith it shall be of Such Value, and Rec"! 
in all Payments. Therefore Resolv*! to Petition s"^ Court for Redress of 
said Agrevence. 

Asa Whitcomb, Chairman of sd Committee. 

February 5, 1778 

Voted to accept the articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union be- 
tween the United States of America. 

March 2, 1778 

Voted and Chose Capt. Jonathan Wilder, Jonathan Fairbank, Elisha 
White, Capt. Benjamin Houghton, Eph'" Roper, a Committee of Inspec- 
tion and Safety. 



V. SHORT SERVICE ENLISTMENTS, 1777-82. 

It will be more convenient, before giving a roster of 
Lancaster soldiers enrolled in the continental army for three 
years or during the war, to complete the records of short- 
service enlistments. 

RHODE ISLAND SERVICE. 

In December, 1776, General Sir Henry CHnton and 
Admiral Sir Peter Parker, having been foiled by General 
Lee in their attack upon Charleston, occupied Rhode Island 
with about six thousand troops. This was a convenient 



156 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



point whence to attempt marauding excursions when oppor- 
tunity favored, or to make a diversion in aid of Burgoyne's 
southward movement from Lake Champlain. Congress, 
recognizing the threatening danger, ordered the raising of 
a corps of militia in the three southern New England states 
to hold this hostile force in check or destroy it, and Gen- 
eral Joseph Spencer was placed in command. The move- 
ments of this officer were so deliberate that he became 
familiarly known to his own troops as "Granny Spencer." 
It was October, 1777, before he was ready for a descent 
upon the island. On an appointed night the army was 
drawn up at Tiverton, but a sudden storm made the pas- 
sage of boats hazardous ; the expedition was delayed, and 
the campaign finally ended ingloriously without action. 

Besides Colonel Thomas Craft's artillery and half the 
militia of Massachusetts, drafted to serve during October 
under General Hancock, three thousand troops, specially 
enrolled by the state for this service, were present. Among 
the last, serving in Colonel Abijah Stearns's regiment, un- 
der Captain Joseph Sergeant of Princeton, were the fol- 
lowing : 

OF LANCASTER. 

Thomas Grant, 
Samuel Johnson, 
Joseph Jones, 
Phineas Phelps, 
Josiah Phelps, 



Sergeant Jacob Wilder, 
William Beman, 
John Brooks, Jr. 
Daniel Burditt, 



John Snow, 
Nathaniel Taylor, 
Ephraim Wiles, 
Elijah Wilder. 



Corporal Samuel Baker, 
Benjamin Bruce, 



OF BOLTON. 

Thomas Burnham, 
John Longley, 



OF HARVARD. 

Qr.-M. Sergt. Jacob Whitney, Jacob Robbins, 
James Burt, Jonathan Simonds, 

Joseph Fry, 

OF LEOMINSTER. 

Second-Lieut. Thomas Wilder, Asa Johnson, 
Shubael Bailey, Simeon Perry, 

Phineas Carter. 



Josiah Sawyer, 
John Whitcomb. 

Reuben Whitney, 
Solomon Whitney. 



Benjamin Stevens, 
Josiah White. 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, iii, 162-3.] 



RHODE ISLAND SERVICE. 157 



In the regiment of Colonel Danforth Keyes, Captain 
Francis Wilson's company, were these Lancaster men, 
serving from August to December, 1777 • 

Samuel Brown, Jonas Houghton, Reuben Ross, 

Ebenezer Burphy, David Pike, Asa Rugg, 

Elijah Burphy, Elisha Prouty, Nathan Taft, 

Jonas Gary, Peter Putnam, Francis Temple, 

John Dunsmoor, Jonas Rice, John Winn. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxiv. 156.] 

Again, in 1778, an attempt was made to recover New- 
port, by the combined efforts of the newly arrived French 
fleet, commanded by the Count d' Estaing, and an army of 
ten thousand men under General John Sullivan, with Gen- 
eral Nathaniel Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette as 
division commanders. A plan of combined attack was 
agreed upon, and on August 9 the advance began. The 
American forces occupied Quaker and Butt's Hills, and 
the French troops, four thousand in number, were prepar- 
ing to disembark, when suddenly the English fleet was 
reported in sight, and the Count d' Estaing, with favoring 
wind, went out to meet it. Everything seemed to promise 
triumph ; but a tempest of unexampled severity set in, and, 
on the night of the tenth, drove both fleets to sea, damag- 
ing them seriously and causing much suffering in the 
camps. When, on the twentieth of August, d' Estaing 
again entered Newport harbor, he deemed it necessary to 
proceed at once to Boston for repairs, and abandoned the 
enterprise so favorably begun. In view of the fact that 
re-enforcements might at any hour arrive from New York 
to the assistance of the enemy, retreat was now unavoid- 
able. On the twenty-eighth, at night, General Sullivan 
abandoned his siege works and marched to the northern 
end of the island. The British veterans were the following 
morning led to an assault upon the American lines, but 
were repelled by the combined force of militia and conti- 
nentals, after several hours of hard lighting. In this action, 
known as the Battle of Quaker's Hill, the Massachusetts 



158 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



detachments won much praise. The next day the retreat 
was skilfully completed without molestation, and thus 
ended an expedition that for a time gave fair promise of 
putting a glorious end to the war. 

The second Worcester regiment of militia, commanded 
by Coloniel Josiah Whitney of Harvard, was one of those 
detailed for the Rhode Island campaign, and was engaged 
for one month and fifteen days from August i, 1778. Cap- 
tain Manasseh Sawyer's company of this regiment num- 
bered sixty-four rank and file, belonging to Lancaster, 
Harvard and Bolton. Its roster, found in Massachusetts 
Archives, xxii, 207, follows, Lancaster names being in 
italics : 



Capt. Manasseh Sawyer, 

Lieut. Richard Townsend, 

Lieut. John Daby, 

Sergt. David Safnpsoti, 
" Ebenezer Pike, 
" Jonathan Wilder, 
" William Phelps, 

Corp. Nathaniel Roper, 
" yoshica Rugg, 
" David Whitconib, 
" Amos Sergeant, 

Daniel Albert, 

Oliver Atherton, 

John Brigham, 

Ebenezer Burpee, 

Stephen Coolidge, 

William Coolidge, 

Micah Davis, 

Ja7iies Divol, 

Jonathan Fairbank, 

Francis Farr, 

Phifieas Fletcher, 



James Fuller, 
Elisha Fullam, 
David Geary, 
James Goddard, 
James Goodwin, 
David Greenleaf, 
Oliver Hale, 
Abner Haskell, 
Stephen Hastings, 
Silas Holman, 
John Hoppin, 
Nathaniel Houghton, 
Josiah Kendall, 
Edward Martin, 
John Mead, 
Willard Moore, 
Joseph Nichols, 
Jacob Nor cross, 
William Pollard, 
Jacob Priest, 
John Priest, 



William Putnam, 
Nehemiah Ramsdell, 
Tilley Richardson, 
Ebenezer Ross, 
Aaron Rugg, 
Thaddeus Shattuck, 
Joshua Stiles, 
Manasseh Stow, 
Jesse Walcot, 
Ebenezer Warner, 
Oliver Wheelock, 
Enoch Whitcomb, 
Phineas Whitcomb, 
Israel Whitney, 
Richard Whitney, 
Abel Wilder, 
Asaph Wilder, 
David Wilder, 
Elijah Wilder, 
Joshua Willard, 
Joseph Wright, 



In the regiment of Colonel Nathaniel Wade, serving in 
Rhode Island during the year 1778, in the companies of 
Captains Ebenezer Belknap, Nathan Fisher, Elisha Jack- 
son, etc., were : 



RHODE ISLAND SERVICE. 



159 



Sergt. William Fairbanks, 

" John Wheelock, 
Corp. Thomas Kendall, 
Drummer Timothy Kendall 
Peter Ayres, 
Lazarns Brabrook, 
Jonas Brooks, 

Sergt. William Whitcomb, 
Nathan Ball, 
Nathaniel Holman, 



LANCASTER MEN. 

Josiah Cutting, 
Jacob Glasier, 
Ephraim Houghton, 
Jonas Houghton, Jr. 
Joshua Phelps, 
Reuben Ross, 

BOLTON MEN. 

Jacob Houghton, 
Jonas Houghton, 



HARVARD MEN. 

Corp. Phineas Warner, William Sanderson, Jr. 



Oliver Edwards, 
John Hale, 



Prince Turner, 
Calvin Warner, 



Jacob Sawyer, 
Jonathan Whitcomb, 
Samuel Whitcomb, 
David Winch, 
John Winn, 
John Wyman. 



Abel Priest, 
Jonas Welch. 



Abel Wetherbee, 
Jonas Whitney, Jr. 



Corp. Nathan Colburn, 
Thomas Follinsbee, 
Calvin Hale, 



Luke Johnson, 
Jacob Symonds, 
Zebedee Symonds. 



LEOMINSTER MEN. 

David Hale, 
Joel Hale, 
Robert Houghton, 
[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, LV, M. 56, 59; XLii, 10, etc.J 

At a town-meeling in Lancaster, September 9, 1779, ^* 

was 

Voted to hier the men to go to Rhod Island, sent for by order of 
Council 28. August. 



. . Capt. David Moore's co7npatiy. Col. John Jacobs^ regitnent, 
serving in Rhode Island from October i, 1779, two moftths. 

LANCASTER MEN. 

Oliver Glazier, 
Daniel Knight, 
Edmund Larkin, 
Ephraim Larkin, 



Sergt. Sherebiah Hunt, 
Fifer John Wheelock, 
Stanton Carter, 
Solomon Fleeman, 



Capt. David Moore, 
Joseph Houghton, 



Sergt. John Hill, 
Thaddeus Brown, 



Reuben Lipenwell, 
Joseph Sever, 
James Snow, 
Jotham Wilder. 



BOLTON MEN. 

John Moore, 
Richard Townsend, 

HARVARD MEN. 

James Furbush, 
Nathan Garfield, 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, lli, 9.] 



Jonathan Whitcomb. 



Nathaniel Hazeltine, 
David Stone, 
Jonas Whitney. 



i6o 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



July 25, 1780, intelligence came that Sir Henry Clinton 
meditated an attack upon the French encampment at New- 
port, and the short service recruits raised for the re-enforce- 
ment of the Continental army were ordered to Rhode 
Island. These Lancaster officers led them : 

Capt. Fortunatus Eager, Lieut. Timothy Hayward, Lieut. Samuel Wilder. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, I, 11.] 

In Captain Joseph Elliott's company, Colonel William 
Furnas's regiment, at Butt's Hill, December i, 1781, were 
the following : 

OF LANCASTER. 



Lieut. Joseph White, 
Corp. Abel Thayer, 

James Haten, 

Samuel Haskell, 

Benjamin Brown, 



Ephraim Hale, 
James Haten, Jr. 

OF BOLTON. 

David Wetherby, 

OF HARVARD. 

Nehemiah Ramsdell, 

OF LEOMINSTER. 

Ephraim Lincoln, 



John Whitcomb. 



Elihu Whitcomb. 



Samuel Russell. 



Benjamin Tarbox. 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls. II, 13.] 



Roll of Capt. David Moore's Company of Militia in Lt.-Col. Enoch Hal- 
lefs Regt. 3 7no^., accorditig to aft Act of the Ce?ieral Court of the 
22^ June last. Rhode Island, July 21, 1781. 



David Moore, capt. 
John Houghton, lieut. 
Timothy Bailey, lieut. 
Harry Rice, 
Ephraim Fairbank. 
Jonathan Bush, 
Daniel Carter, 
Moses Hudson, 
Peter Fletcher, 
Jonas Houghton, 
Abel Houghton, 
Stephen Ross, 
Joseph Parson, 
Reuben Wilder, 
Nathan Wilder, 
Benjamin Robins, 



Edmund Larkin, 
Calvin Wilder, 
Ignatius Fuller, 
Rufus Moore, 
Benjamin Haskell, 
Daniel Wilder, 
John Willson, 
Benjamin Hastings, 
Walter Pollard, 
Daniel Harris, 
Benjamin Gould, 
Benjamin Sawyer, 
John Cooledge, 
William McBride 
Eleazar Parker, 
Timothy Shattuck, 



Silvester Roper, 
Jonas Bailey, 
Josiah Fairbank, 
Levi Robins, 
Solomon Holman, 
Nathaniel Taylor, 
Artemas Willard, 
James Brown, 
Thomas Blodget, 
Benjamin Wheelock, 
William Park, 
Abnah Whitcomb, 
Abel Wetherbee, 
Benjamin Warner, 
Oliver Hail, 
Peter Stickney, 



BENNINGTON ALARM. 



l6] 



Elisha Rugg, 

William Burges, 

Jacob Wilder, 

Aaron Rugg, 

Jonas Welch, 

John Wheelock, drtinimer. 

Benjamin Richardson, y?/"^r 

John Barnard, 

Lemuel Barrett, 

John Wheelock, 

Ephraim Larkin, 



Jotham Whitcomb, 
Joseph Beaman, 
Haran Eger, 
Oliver Tenney, 
Solomon Sawtel, 
Abijah White, 
Levi Preast, 
Nathan Burpee, 
John Roper, 
Oliver Dresser. 



Thomas Peabody, 
Lsaac Burbank, 
John Dudley, 
Ephraim Corey, 
Elijah Preast, 
Joseph Houghton, 
David Farwell, 
George Gleason, 
Israel Hail, 
Moses Dickenson, 
James Richardson. 



Samuel Kilburn, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxi, 6i.] 

Residences are not given in the roll. The officers were 
all of Bolton, but the privates seem nearly equally divided 
between Lancaster, Bolton and Harvard, with a few from 
adjoining towns. 

BENNINGTON ALARM. 

In the month of July, 1777, the abandonment of Ticon- 
deroga and the subsequent disasters to the patriot cause at 
Skenesborough and Hubbardton, naturally spread conster- 
nation through New England ; for the victorious march by 
Burgoyne southward threatened a division of the country 
into two sections, and the probable subjugation of each in 
turn by the united armies of the king. An unmerited dis- 
trust of General Schuyler throughout the Eastern states, 
and the importance of garnering the hay and grain crops, 
had dangerously retarded the re-enforcements of the North- 
ern army. The Massachusetts Council of War, at last 
rudely awakened to the hour's necessity, showed abundant 
zeal, and despatched the militia in hot haste to the rescue. 
Thousands reached the field in time to aid the impetuous 
valor of Morgan and Arnold in reaping for General Gates 
the glorious victory at Saratoga, which his predecessor's 
wisely laid plans had made secure. The call to arms 
reached the Lancaster captains in the following form : 

In consequence of orders from Col. Whitney you are Immediately to 
Draught one-sixth part of the Train band and alarm List in your Company 
to march to Bennington to oppose the Northern Army; hereof fail not, 



l62 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



and make Due Return — given under my hand this 27'^ Day of July 1777. 

Silas Baily, Major. 
N. B. they are to be equipt according to Law with six Days provision. 

August 2, heavy re-enforcements were again demanded 
for the increase of the Massachusetts forces under General 
Benjamin Lincoln, then harassing the rear of Burgoyne's 
army. The Bolton major therefore issued this second 
order : 

To Cafit". David Nurse, Greting. 

In Consequence of orders receved this moment from Col. Whitney 
I order you to corse one half of the traning band together with the allarm 
list to march to Benington immediately with eight dayes provison and 
arms and ammunition as the law directs agreabel to s*^ orders. 

Silas Bailey, 77taj. 

For several weeks the mechanic was missed from his 
bench, the husbandman from the fields, and the care of 
cattle and crops devolved upon the women and children 
waiting in prayerful suspense. The Lancaster men answer- 
ing to the summons are found in the muster-rolls of Cap- 
tains John White and Solomon Stuart : 

Captai7i John White's company which marched to Bennington on alartn 
July, 1777, and served one month eight days under Col. Job Ctishing. 



John White, captain. Levi Larkin, 

John Kenrick, lieutenant. Enoch Roper, 
Andrew Haskell, substitute. John Spofford, 
Luke Wilder, sergeant. Phinehas Wilder, 

Ruben Garey, " John Robbins, 

David Hosley, " Noah Kendall, 

William Fairbank, sergeant. Jacob Wilder, 
Jonas Powers, corporal. Abijah Houghton, 



Ebenezer Brooks, " 

Solomon Holman, " 

Joshua Rugg, " 

John Wheelock, dnwu/ier. 

Calvin Kilburn, Jifer, 

Abel Allen, 

Amos Allen, 

Jotham Wilder, 

Moses Dickenson, 

David Andrews, Shrewsbury 



Nathaniel Taylor, 
William Goss, 
Joseph Pearson, 
Jonathan Knight, 
Samuel Jewitt, 
Daniel Page, 
Joshua Phelps, 
James Divol, 
Benjamin Bosworth, 



John Fletcher, 
Nathaniel Houghton, 
Ephraim White, 
Jacob Sawyer, 
Elijah Rugg, 
Amos Sawyer, 
Josiah Phelps, 
Joseph Jones, 
Solomon Fleeman, 
David Bennett, 
Thomas Wright, 
Ephraim Pike, 
Peter Manning, 
Joseph Beaman. 
Elisha Woods, 

Onesimus , 

David Whitecar, 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, III, 250.] 



BENNINGTON ALARM. 



l6. 



Solomon Stuarfs Co. iti Coll. Josiah Whitney^s Regt : marched 
071 alarm at Beiiniiigton on Angnst ye 21, 1777. 



Solomon Stuart, capt. 
Edward Newton, 1st It. 
Elisha Sawyer, 2d It. 
Samuel Bayley. 1st sert. 
Samuel Thompson, 2^ sert. 
Ephraim Willard, yi sert. 
Cornelius Sawyer, \th sert. 
Ephraim Goss, \^t corp. 
Oliver Fairbank, 2^ corp. 
Ephraim Bowker, yi corp. 
Aaron Sawyer, 4 corp. 
William Kendall, fifer. 
David Osgood, 
William Putnam, 
Micah Harthan, 
Ebenezer Buss, Jr. 
Jonathan Pierce, 
Ephraim Wright, 
Abel Richardson, 

August 21-25. 



Caleb Whitney, 
Ephraim Powers, 
Elijah Dresser, 
Samuel Snow, 
Moses Burpee, 
Timothy Brown, 



Josiah Kendall, 
Samuel Mason, 
Thomas Sawyer, 
John Willard, 
William Palmer, 
David Wilder, 



Jonathan Nelson, Jr. Jonathan Prescot, 



Joshua Willard, 
Elihu Wilder, 
William Putnam, Jr. 
Manasseh Roper, 
John Roper, 
Levi May, 
Nathan Burpee, Jr. 
Samuel Brown, 
Eathan Kendall, 
Ephraim Wilder, Jr. 



Oliver Moor, 
Peter Prescot, 
Joshua Brooks, 
Samuel Rice, 
Elijah Wilder, 
John Chandler, 
Israel Cook, 
William Eaton, 
Calvin Moor, 
John Brooks, 



Jonathan Thompson, Tilley Richardson. 
Ebenezer Ross, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XXIII, 64.] 



Captain Hezekiah Whitney''s Company of Bolton ; Bentmtgton alartn. 



Capt. Hezekiah Whitney, 
Lt. Richard Townsend, 
Lt. Thomas Mason, 
Sergt. Jacob Moore, 
" James Burt, 
" William Haskell, 
Corp. Uriah Moore, 
" Gabriel Priest, 
Fifer Isaac Crouch, 



July 30, 1777. 
Richard Townsend, 
Silas Whitcomb, 
David Whitney, 
Simon Houghton, 
Richard Whitney, 
Jonathan Clerk, 
Thaddeus Pollard, 
Jonathan Symonds, 
James Fife, 
[Mass. Archives, Muster 



William Willard, 
Oliver Atherton, 
Jonathan Stearns, 
John Hill, 
Josiah Whitney, 
Enoch White, 
Edward Martin, 
Nathaniel Longley, 
Samuel Davis. 
Rolls, XXIV, 25 and 36.] 



Lient. Samuel Stickney''s Company in Colonel Abijah Stearns'^s Regi?nent 
of Militia, marched to Saratoga on the 9 of Oct. 1777, by order of 
General Court, to assistance of General Gates, [of Leominster.'] 



Left. Samuel Stickney, 
Left. Thomas Wilder. 
Sargent John Colburn, 
Sargent Levi Warner, 
Corp. Abijah Butler, 



John Bowers, 
Ebenezer Butler, 
Abijah Carter, 
Josiah Carter, 
Jonathan Colburn, 



Ebenezer Houghton, 
David May, 
Francis Parker, 
Jacob Spaford, 
Josiah Swan, 



164 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Corp. Josiah Whitcomb, 
David Boutell, 
William Boutell, 



Jonas Gates, Elisha White, 

Silas Hail, David Wilder, 

Abiathar Houghton, James Wood. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxill, 49.] 



RE-ENFORCEMENTS OF CONTINENTAL ARMY. 

Capt. John Drury''s Co., Col. Ezra Wood, Ticonderoga, May to 
December, 1778. 
Stanton Carter, 
Benjamin Farley, 
William Grout, 
Jonathan Gale, 
Solomon How, 
Ephraim Holland, 
Jonathan Houghton, 
Joseph Houghton, 
Joseph Houghton, Jr. John Stacy, 
Samuel Jewett, Thomas Severy, 

Joseph Jewett, 
Ebenezer Lyon, 
Benjamin Larkin, 
Edmund Larkin, 
John Larkin, 
Ebenezer Mann, 
[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XLVI, 89, loi, 115, 129, 141.] 

No residences are given in the original, but most of the 
list are of Bolton and Lancaster. 

Capt. Ephraim Stearns's Co., Col. Ezra Woods'^ R^S^- • • 1778. 
David Hemmingway, sergt. Benjamin Dolbear, Josiah White, 

Phineas Fullam, John Whitemore, 

Jacob Hutchins, Solomon Wilson, 

Samuel Houghton, George Wood, 
Thomas Lawton, Jonathan Wood, 

Joseph Priest, Silas Wyman. 

John Thurston, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XLI, 188.J 

A List of the Men Procured from the County of Worcester .... for the 
tertn of tiine Months from the time of their arrival at Fish Kills. . . . 



John Drury, captain. 
John Kindrick, lieut. 
James Burt, lieut. 
James Burt, sergt. 

Noah Eager, " 

Spencer Maynard, " 
Enoch Roper, " 

Abraham Townsend, corp. 
Benjamin Sawyer, " 
John Fay, " 

Jonathan Knowlton, " 
Abijah Herrington, fifer. 
Nathaniel Andrews, 
Amos Allen, 
Abel Amsden, 
Joseph Beeman, 



Jacob Miller, 
John More, 
Joseph Nowell, 
Marshall Newton, 
Samuel Phelps, 
Ephraim Parkiss, 
Lewis Smith, 
Lemuel Shed, 



Jonathan Stearns, 
Benjamin Sadler, 
Robert Townsend, 
Jotham Wilder, 
John Wilson. 



James Wilder, " 

Joseph Newton, " 

Nathaniel Bosworth, corp 
Daniel Harris, " 

Thomas Dodge, " 

John Boutell, 





Age. 


Stature. 


Complexion. 


John Todd, 


27 


5 ft. 6 in. 




Elisha Wood, 


19 


5" 6" 


Dark. 


William Flood, 


19 


5 " 6 " 


" 


Jacob Wilder, 


20 


5 " 10 " 


" 



CONTINENTAL RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 



i6s 



John Brooks, 


Age. 
20 


Stature. 
5 ft. 8 in. 


Complexion. 
Dark. 


Benjamin Smith, 


26 


5" 8 " 


" 


Jonas Baley, 


26 


6" 


*' 


Moses Bruer, 


23 


5 " 10 " 


<i 


Charles Henry, 


40 


5 " 


Negro. 


Joshua Kendall, 


30 


5" 6" 


Dark. 


Joseph Patterson, 


25 


5 " 10 " 


t< 


Jonathan Baley, 


44 


6" I " 


" 


Benjamin Sterns, 


29 


5" 6" 


Light. 


Ephraim Fuller, 


16 


5" 6" 


" 


Benjamin Bosworth, 


25 


5 " 5 " 


Dark. 


Able Allen, 


22 


5" 8" 


>( 


Andrew Haskell, 


30 


S " 10 «' 


" 



The list contains seventy-nine names, the above being 
Lancaster's quota of seventeen. Harvard's quota was 
nine ; Bolton's, eight, and Leominster's, six. Captain 
Andrew Haskell led the men to Fishkill, arriving there 
June 17, 1778. 

[Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, XXVIII, 133; iv, 283; xi.i, 302, 350.J 

The Bolton men were : 





Age. 


Stature. 


Complexion. 


Abel Baker, 


21 


5 ft. 9 in. 


Dark. 


Ebenezer Bailey, 


27 


6" 


Light. 


Timothy Blair, 


28 


6" 




William Barges, 


27 


5 " 8 " 




Samuel Moore, 


25 


6" 2 " 




Josiah Sawyer, Jr. 


20 


5 '• II " 




William Sawyer, 3<i, 


28 


5 " 9 " 




Jesse Walcot, 


44 


5" 9" 


' ' rejected. 


John Whitcomb, Jr. 


18 


5" 6" 






[Mass 


Archives, Muster Rolls, XXVII, 136; XLI, 222.] 


The Harvard 


men were : 






Age. 


Stature. 


Complexion. 


Lysaias Blanchard, 


29 


5 ft. 8 in. 


Dark. 


Jonathan Crouch, Jr. 


31 


5 " 9 " 


Light. 


Harbour Farnsworth, 


21 


5 " 6 " 


Dark. 


George Leason [^Gleasoti\20 


5" 6" 


Light. 


Europe Hamblin, 


20 


5 " 10 " 


Dark. 


William Parks, 


28 


6" 


Light. 


Aaron Priest, 


20 


5 " 9 " 


Dark. 


Freedom Ramsdell, 


20 


5" 8" 


Light. 


Abraham Willard, 


28 


6" 


Dark. 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxvin, 135.] 



1 66 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



The Leominster men were : 




Age. Stature. 


Complexion. 


Shubael Bailey, i8 5 ft. 9 in. 


Dark. 


Asa Buttrick, 31 5 " 8 " 


" 


David Johnson, 18 5 " 7 " 


" 


Thomas Page, 48 5 " 10 " 


" 


Simon Perrey, ^3 5 " 9 " 


Light. 


Joseph Stuart, 20 5 " 8 " 


Dark. 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxvili, 136.] 

At the town meeting May 18, 1778, the town clerk, 
Cyrus Fairbank — who, like his predecessor, Nathaniel 
Beaman, obviously owed his official position to the high 
order of his patriotism rather than to his literary abilities — 
records that the town — 

Voted to Rais Four thousand and Fourty-nine pounds seven shiJings 
For to pay Solgers that was hyerd for eight months and nine months that 
was to Join the Contenantal army for the present year. 

Voted to see what methurds the town will Come into for to Rase thes 
men that wair sent for to Reinfors the Contenantal army. 

Voted to Rase eighteen Contenantal men for nine months and pay them 
by the town and to asses s<i town for the same as they have in all other 
town taxes in tim past. 

Voted and Chosen a Committe to Rase the eighteen men above 
Exprest and that the Committe Concist of the Commision officers of 
Each Compiney and the Selectmen and the Committe of Saftey for s<^ 
town. 

Voted to Rais Fourteen men mor and to pay them by a town tax as the 
other above Exprest for to joine our armey. 

Voted that the Comision officers of each Compiney in s'^ town with the 
Selectmen and Committe of Saftey be a Committe to hire money to pay 
the eighteen Contennatal men above Exprest upon the town's account. 

October 26 1778 

Voted to Chus a Comitey to supply the Familey of thos that air Gon 
into the Contenantal army. 

Voted and Chos SoUomon Jewet, Edward Newton, Josiah Kendal Jun. 
Elisha White, Daniel Rugg, William Tucker for s'^ Comitey. 

The care of the soldiers' families was kept up for sev- 
eral years. At the town meetings above named were also 
discussed two important political questions : the acceptance 
of the State Constitution, and the division of the town. 



CONTINENTAL RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 167 

May 18 Voted to Receive the new Form of Goverment and 

Constitution sent to us by the Great and General Corte ; the number of 
pols that Voted to Receive it was one hundred and Eleven. Voted against 
Receives the Constitution, Forty-one. 

Voted to Set of the Second Precinct in Lancaster as a Seprat Town. 

January 4, 1779 

Voted to Rase three hundred pounds to Supply the Famileys of those 
that air Gon into the Contenantal army. 

March 1779 Voted and Choose Col. Joseph Reed, Cyrus Fair- 
bank, Nathaniel White, Solomon Jewet, Luke Wilder committee of Inspec- 
tion and Saftey. 

May 17, 1779 

Voted to have new form of government and Constitution made ; pres- 
ent at said meeting voting on the first article in the Court's direction to 
the Selectmen, 84 Yeas, 14 Nays. 

Voted to accept the second article in the Court order Concerning a 
New Constitution with this addition. We do Impower our Representative 
to give his vote for Choosing a Convention for the purpose mentioned with 
Proviso that the Constitution Shall Return unto the hand of the people 
For their approbation or Disapprobation. 

Lancaster, June 28, 1779 

•jdiy. Voted to raise the men sent for from the General Court (by the 
town). 

4}y. Voted to pay the men Required by the General Court by a town 
Rate. 

5'y. Voted to Chuse a Committee to Raise the men for the army. 

6'>'. Voted that the Selectmen, Commissioned officers and Committee 
of Correspondence Be the above Committee. 

7'y. Voted and Impowered the Committee to hire the men for the 
most Reasonable sum and to pay in the produce of the land or in money. 

S^y. Voted to Impower the Committee to give the men 40/ pr. month 
to go into the army and pay at the price of the produce of the land at a 
price Eaqual to the above sum of 40/ pr. month. 

Lancaster, August 2, 1779 

6. Voted that the Captains now in being of the Respective Compa- 
nies make a Return at our next adjournment of what has been done by 
turnes or in money in the Services of their Country from the first of the 
war to this time. 

At an adj'ourned meeting the captains presented their 
report, which was referred to an auditing committee, but 
not recorded. It probably met tlie fate of former attempts 
to equalize the burdens of patriotism. 



1 68 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



.... Nine months' ; 


men enlisted 


y?^«^ 25, 1779, marched July 14 






Age. 


Height. 


Age. 


Height. 


William Flud, 


21 


5 ft. 7 in. 


Reubeu Wilder, 18 


5 ft. 


10 in. 


John Wyman, 


17 


5 " 2 " 


Peter Putnam, 21 


5 " 


8 " 


Elisha Woods, 


20 


5 " 7 " 


William Kilburn, 17 


5 " 


3 " 


Zimoii Eveleth, 


17 


5 '• 2 " 


Julius Caesar, 17 


5 " 


5 " 


Samuel Sawyer, 


30 


5 " 10 " 


Lemuel Shed, 17 


5 " 


3 " 


Eber Sawyer, 


25 


5 " ID '• 


Abijah Rice, 18 


5 " 


9 " 


Jacob Sawyer, 


23 


6" I " 


Ephraim Fuller, 17 


5 " 


7 " 


Abel Sawyer, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


Levi Warner, 18 


5 " 


7 " 


Calvin Sawyer, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


James Houghton. 







[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XLI, 352; XLII, 41 ; xxix, 53..] 

This detachment, it will be seen, included a larger pro- 
portion of youthful recruits, and those below the average 
stature, than Lancaster furnished at any other date. It 
would seem that the whole contribution of the state was 
similarly peculiar, for Washington, July 29, wrote to Pres- 
ident Reed that he had received no re-enforcements since 
the last campaign, "excepting about four hundred recruits 
from the State of Massachusetts Bay (a portion of whom 
I am told are children, hired at above fifteen hundred dol- 
lars each, for nine months' service)." 

The Bolton men enlisted for nine months, in 1779, were : 

Age. 
John Barnard, 17 

Gordon Goddard, 
Benjamin Haskell, 
Moses Haskell, 

Harvard men : 

Age. 
Adam Amsden, 17 
Reuben Garfield, 25 
America Hamlin, 17 
Jona. Houghton, 18 

Leominster men 

Age. 
Samuel Boutell, 
David Clark, I}, 

Samuel Houghton, 18 
Samuel Jones. 
Abner Livermore, 



Height. 




Age. 


Height. 


5 ft. 7 in. 


Benj. Hastings, 


17 


5 ft. 9 in 




Rufus Moore, 


19 


5 " 10 " 




Samuel Moore, 


27 


6 " 2 " 




Paul Wilson, 


21 


5 " 8 " 


Height. 




Age. 


Height. 


5 ft. 7 in. 


Aaron Priest, 


21 


5 ft. 8 in, 


5 " 10 " 


Samuel Russell, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


5- 6" 


John Todd, 


28 


5 " 9 " 


5 " 6 " 


Reuben Willard, 


23 


6" 



Height. 

5 ft. 10 in. 

5 " 7 " 



Age. 
Luther Marble, 
Robert Motterhead,24 
Calvin Oaks, 20 

Silas Perry. 



Height. 



5 ft. 
5 " 



6 in. 
6 " 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XXI X, 55; XLi, 352.] 



CONTINENTAL RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 



169 



. . . Captain Luke Wilder''s Company in 2^ Regt. Militia, Colo Sam- 
uel Denny, at Claverick itt Continental Service, October 27 to December 
II, 1779. 



Luke Wilder, capt. 
Andrew Haskell, It. 
John Daby, //. 
David Pike, sergt. 
Wilder Chamberlain, sergt. 
Jacob Whitney, " 

Samuel Adams, corp. 
Luther Stephens. " 
Abel Baker, " 

Levi May, " 

John Wheelock, drummer. 
John Priest, yf/'^r. 
Joseph Beaman, 
Roger Bartlett, 
Jonathan Bailey, 
Ebenezer Burpee, 
Benjamin Bridge, 
Jonathan Bush, 
Nathan Ballard, 
Amherst Bailey, 



James Bellows, 
Stephen Cooledge, 
Thomas Davis, 
Jonathan Fairbank, 
Joseph Fairwell, 
Leonard Fairwell, 
David Fairwell, 
William Farr, 
Abial Holt, 
Oliver Haskell, 
Joseph Jewett, 
John Hall, 
Oliver Hailes, 
Thomas Henderson, 
John Lacy, 
Abram Longley, 
Ely Longley, 
Robert Moor. 
Paul Mason, 
John Nichols, 



Jonathan Newton, 
Aaron Phelps, 
John Prentice, 
Ephraim Pike, 
Edward Prise, 
Abel Priest, 
Resolved Richardson, 
Enoch Roper, 
Paul Sawyer, 
Oliver Wheelock, 
John Willard, 
Samuel Wright, 
Elihu Wilder, 
Phinehas Wilder, 
Ephraim Whitney, 
Joel Whitney, 
Amos Wetherby, 
B.Whittemore Willard 
Joshua Willard. 

59 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxiv, 173.] 



Residences are not recorded in the roll. The men were 
chiefly, if not all, from Lancaster, Bolton and Harvard. 

2 : Voted and accepted of the proceedings of Committee with Regard 
to hiering soldiers. 

3. Voted that the Committee be directed to pay the soldiers one 
month's pay Before they march for Claverack 

5. Voted that the Commission'^ officers be directed to proceed to a 
draught upon the Respective Companies in case the Committee carn't hier 
the men as the town have voted the Remaining part of the soldiers that 
won't Inlist. 

6 Voted that the Selectmen and the Captains be desired to stand as a 
Committee to hier soldiers for the service untill the estimation is Complyed 
with and Compleated 

Voted to Raise the sum of ^6381 to pay the soldiers for going into 
the service. 

Voted that the assessors be directed to make the Rate for the above 
sum Emediately. 
12 



170 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster, March 6, 1780 

I. Voted and Chose James Richardson, Samuel Thurston, Thomas 
Gates, Cap'. Luke Wilder and Capt. Benja. Richardson a Committee of 
Inspection and Correspondence 

33'J. Voted to Choose a Committee to hire Soldiers for y"^ Future, 
when sent for by y'' General Assembly. 

March 8 

8. Voted that the Field officers belonging to this Town with the Com- 
manders of the respective companies, be for a committee to hire Soldiers 
for the future when sent for by y*^ General Court. 

Lancaster, May 2<^, 1780 

6. Voted that the Selectmen and Treasurer settle with ye Soldiers 
that have notes for Grain, upon the best Terms that they can. 

In June, 1780, the government called upon Lancaster 
to furnish forty men for six-months' service, and at a town- 
meeting on the sixteenth of that month the town — 

2. Voted to hire the men now sent for by the General Court 

by a Town Tax 

4. Voted to Choose a Committee for the Purpose of hireing them as 
above 

6. Voted and Chose Capt. Samuel Ward, John Prescott, Dea. Cyrus 
Fairbank, Capt. Nathaniel Balch, Samuel Thurston and Dea. Levi Moor of 
ye F' Precinct and Thomas Brown, James Richardson, Nathaniel Hough- 
ton, Israel Moor, James Kendal Jr. and Jonas Wilder Jun. of ye 2^ Pre- 
cinct for s'^ Committee. 

The sudden re-appearance of Captain Samuel Ward's 
name at the head of a Lancaster committee, when for 
nearly five years he had been almost excluded from town 
councils because his political utterances were not radical 
enough to suit the feverish times, is significant ; and Joseph 
Willard, Esq., has explained the circumstances that brought 
him again to the front, where he naturally belonged. When 
the assembled voters began the consideration of ways and 
means to obtain the forty soldiers demanded by the Gen- 
eral Court, Josiah Kendall, Jr., a prominent politician and 
inn-keeper of the second precinct, whose patriotism had 
hitherto been of an especially flamboyant character, arose, 
declaring it a hopeless task to try to induce so large a num- 
ber to enlist, and seemed inclined to advocate refusal of 



CONTINENTAL RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 171 

obedience to the order. Captain Ward saw his opportunity, 
urged in a speech of great eloquence the duty of prompt 
compHance with the requisition, at any sacrifice, and moved 
the appointment of a committee to secure the men. Within 
twelve days the requisite number had been hired, received 
their bounty, and were on their way to the rendezvous. 
Their names will be given on the following page. 

Lancaster, June 23'^ 

On the 3^^ article in y® Warrant, Voted to empower the Committee 
Chosen to hire the Men therein Mentioned on any Terms they think 
Proper, and if the s"^ Committee or any of them shall contract with any 
Person to Do the Service Required by the Orders which are the occation 
of this Vote, that the Town will in all Respects indemnify and make good 
to each one of s'^ Committee severally all Monies, Damages and Expences 
which they or any of them shall incur by performing their s'^ Contracts, 
and will also pay them their reasonable Expences and for their Trouble in 
and about the Premises. 

June 26 at an adjournment — 
Voted to Accept the following Report of the Committee viz : The Com- 
mittee engage to each Man that will enlist 1400^ Law^ Money, such Part 
as each Man may want to be paid Down, the Remainder, when paid, to be 
made as good as it now is ; or 13^. 6^. 8"^ Law^ Money to be paid in the 
Old Way in Corn, Beef and live Stock or any Produce as it formerly used 
to be sold, or the value thereof in Continental Money. The above Sum 
offer<i is a Bounty from the Town in Addition to the Wages aloW^. by the 
Court. And furthermore the Committee Engage that the Money which 
may be Due from the State for the Six Months Service the Town will get 
for each Man that will produce proper Certificates. 

Descriptive List of 6 itios. men raised to re-enforce the Continental 







army. 


1780. 










Age. 


Height. 




Age. 


H( 


3igh 


Ebenezer Flagg, 


24 


6 ft. I in. 


John Brooks, 


21 


5 ft. 


7 


Andrew Haskell, 


33 


5 " II " 


John Parker, 


21 




9 


Samuel Phelps, 


23 


5 " II " 


Abel Richardson, 


19 




7 


Samuel Johnson, 


22 


6" 


William Kilburn, 


17 




4 


Joshua Phelps, 


19 


S " 7 " 


Elijah Burpee, 


19 




5 


Daniel Willard, 


25 


S " 9 " 


Samuel Snow, 


17 




5 


Jonathan Tenney, 


21 


5 " 9 " 


Ephraim Pike, 


20 




7 


Jotham Woods, 


28 


5 " 6 " 


Jonathan Whitcomb, 17 






Reuben Wilder, 


20 


5 " II " 


Ichabod Garey, 


30 




5 


Samuel Corey, 


19 


5 " 4 " 


Ebenezer Burpee, 


19 




8 



172 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Jonathan Barnard, 
Abel Sawyer, 


Age. 
17 
19 


5 
5 


Height, 
ft. 2 in. 
" 8 " 


Enoch Roper, 
William Pike, 


Age. 
21 
16 




Height, 
ft. 9 in. 
" 8 " 


Ezra Moore, 
Jeduthan Sawyer, 
Thomas Moore, 


16 

17 

18 


5 
5 
5 


' 4 " 
" 4 «• 

' 10 " 


John Winn, 
John Dunsmore, 
John Willard, 


20 
35 
19 




" 9 " 
" 9 " 
" 9 " 


Oliver Glazier, 
Samuel Wright, 
Ephraim Houlton, 
John Putnam, 


17 
17 
19 
17 


5 

5 

5 
5 


" 8 " 

" 5 " 
" II " 
" 6 " 


Paul Sawyer, 
Jacob Allen, 
Aaron Willard, 
Philemon Allen, 


21 

22 
22 
22 




" II " 
" II-" 
" 8 " 
" 9 " 


Benjamin Roper, 
James Wilder, 


29 
18 


5 
5 


" 7 " 
" 9 " 


Oliver Wheelock, 


19 




" 8 " 



Besides the above, the names of sixteen other Lancas- 
ter soldiers are found in various rolls, serving for six months 
during 1780 : 

William Flood, 
John Green, 
Thomas Hammond, 
Ephraim Larkin, 
John Parker, 



Levi Phelps, 
Rawson Phelps, 
John Sergeant, 
Jacob Simonds, 
Hosea Sprague. 



Nathaniel Brooks, 
Ebenezer Burditt, 
Stephen Corey, 
Pardon Dolbee, 
John Drewmore, 
Isaac Eveleth. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxxv, 195 ; xxv, 230 ; IV, 125, etc.] 

These men were paid their bounty in various ways and 
with a generous consideration of their individual prefer- 
ences. Joseph Willard, Esq., narrates that John Dunsmoor 
promised to enlist if given a certain lot of land belonging 
to Deacon Levi Moore of the town's committee. "Take 
it," said the deacon, "take it ; Fd rather part with that land, 
although 'tis the best I own, than lose the whole by any 
neglect in aiding the cause of my country." 

Descriptive list of the six-months'' men of Bolton, Harvard, and Leomin- 
ster, raised for the Contitiental army in 1780. 

BOLTON MEN. 





Age. 




Height. 




Age. 


Height. 


Nathaniel Oaks, 


18 




ft. 7 in. 


John Barnard, 


17 


5 ft. 9 in 


Abel Priest, 


20 




" 8 " 


Matthew Atherton, 


19 


5" 6" 


Eli Longley, 


18 




" 6 " 


John Burnham, 


20 


5 " 10 " 


Rufus Houghton, 


16 




' 4 " 


Ebenezer Bailey, 


31 


6" I " 


Nathan'l Whitcomb 


18 




" 3 " 


William Ross, 


11 


5 " 9 " 


Moses Haskell, 


20 




" 7 " 


William Bigelow, 


35 


5" 6" 


Stephen Coolidge, 


18 




" II " 









CONTINENTAL RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 1 73 







HARVARD MEN. 








Age. 


Height. 




Age. 


Height. 


John Oaks, 


22 


5 ft. 5 in. 


Salmon Whitney, 


20 


5 ft. 7 in. 


Jonathan Stearns, 


17 


5 " 7 " 


Jonathan Houghto 


1,19 


S" 8 " 


John Atherton, 


18 


5 " 9 " 


John Warner, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


Simeon Conant, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


John Scollay, 


17 


5 " 7 " 


Thaddeus Brown, 


18 


5 •' 6 " 


Benjamin Bridges, 


20 


5 " 9 " 


Benjamin Hale, 


16 


5 " 2 " 


Oliver Haskell, 


22 


5 " 4 " 


Jonathan Whitney, 


21 


5" 6" 


Abijah Cole, 


17 


S " 9 " 


David Stone, 


18 


5 " 7 " 


Manasseh Stow, 


23 


5 " 7 " 


America Hamlin, 


18 


5" 8" 


Joel Whitney, 


17 


5 " 10 " 


Nathaniel Hazeltine 


, 16 


5" 6" 












LEOMINSTER MEN. 








Age. 


Height. 




Age. 


Height. 


Silas Perry, 


17 


5 ft. 8 in. 


Jacob Simons, 


19 


5 ft. 9 in. 


Samuel Boutell, 


18 


5 " 10 " 


Ephraim Johnson, 


17 


5 " 8 " 


Benjamin Brown, 


22 


5 " 7 " 


Silas Hale, 


20 


5 " 7 " 


Levi Blood, 


23 


5 " 7 " 


Joel Hale, 


18 


5 " 9 " 


Otis Lincoln, 


20 


5 " 9 " 


Samuel Barrett, 


26 


5 " 7 " 


Benjamin Stearns, 


31 


5" 8" 


Joseph Stuart, 


21 


5 " 8 " 


Levi Phelps, 


20 


5" 10 " 








May 13, 1780 


at a town meetir 


g 







1. Voted to Receive y"^ Constitution or Form of Government as it 
now stands — 103 for it and 7 against it. 

2. Voted to impower ye Delegates at ye next Session to agree upon a 
Time when this Form of Government shall take Place without returning 
ye same again to the People, provided that two-thirds of ye Male Inhabi- 
tants of the age of twenty-one years and upwards voting in the several 
Town and Plantation Meetings shall agree to the same, or ye Convention 
shall Confirm it to the sentiments of two-thirds of the People as afore sd. 

Lancaster, July 3'^, 1780 

1. Voted to Choose a Committee to Hire the Ten Contenental Men 
last sent for by the General Court. 

2. Voted and Chose Moses Smith, Capt. Thomas Gates, Eben''. 
Allen, John Brown, Dea. Joel Houghton and Josiah Kendall for ye above 
Committee. 

3. Voted to Choose a Committee to Hire the 48 Militia men now sent 
for by ye General Court. 

4. Voted and Chose Mr Eben"". Bradish, Capt. Ep'". Carter, Dea. Benj. 
Houghton, Ccapt. John White Jun. Josiah Kendall Jr. Micah Harthan, 
Caleb Whitney and Thomas Sawyer for s^^ Committee. 

Monday, July 3, 1780 

Voted to Raise the sum of one Hundred and fifty Thousand Pounds 
for the Purpose of Hireing Soldiers for the Army paying their Mileage etc. 



174 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Captain Nathi. Wri^hfs Co. Sept. to Nov. i8, 1781, Col. Dru- 
rfs Regt. of Militia. lAt West Point.'] 



OF LANCASTER AND STERLING. 



Capt. Nathaniel Wright, 
Corp. Levi Priest, 
John Clark, 
Samuel Corey, 
Ebenezer Harris, 
Abel Houghton, 



Sergt. Daniel Harris, 
Matthew Atherton, 



Ephraim Houghton, Jacob Sawyer, 



Stephen Houghton, 
Jacob Kilburn, 
Enoch Roper, 
Reuben Ross, 
Eber Sawyer, 



Samuel Snow, 
Jonathan Whitcomb, 
Levi White, 
Aaron Willard. 
Artemas Willard. 



BOLTON MEN. 

Nathaniel Holman, Rufus Moore, 
James Houghton, Beriah Oaks. 



HARVARD MEN. 

Simeon Conant, America Hamblin, Benjamin Warner, 

Jacob Fairbank, Samuel Hutchins, Phineas Warner. 

Israel Hale, David Stone, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxiv, 119-120.] 

The second precinct, during the revolution, grew more 
rapidly than the first, and in 1780 outnumbered and out- 
voted the older part of the town. It was finally set oflT 
from Lancaster, April 25, 1781, and named Sterling (with 
not unusual carelessness of orthography), in honor of the 
brave General William Alexander, the putative Earl of 
Stirling, with whom Lancaster men fought at Long Island 
and Monmouth. 

At a town meeting in Lancaster, July 13, 1781, .... 

8. Voted to raise the three and five-months' men agreeable to General 
Court Order. 

9. Voted to Chuse a Committee to procure the said men. 

10. Voted and Choose Josiah Ballard, Jeremiah Haskell and Joshua 
Fletcher as the above Committee. 

Lancaster, July 23, 1781 

2. Voted to raise two hundred and seventy five pounds to pay the 
three and five months men 

Lancaster, September 3, 1781 

7. Voted that the constable be directed to proceed imediately to 
collect the money asses'^, on the town to pay the soldiers their money for 
the three months service and particularly their marching money. 



GUARDS. 175 

Lancaster, Sept. 10, 1781 ; Voted to desire the several Captains to 
Call their Companies together on Fryday next at 9 o'Clock A. M, at the 
meeting house in s'' town and the several constables are directed to exert 
themselves to Collect as much money in Silver as possible for paying the 
soldiers their advance pay. 

Many of the soldiers that served for three months in 
1 781 may be found in the Rhode Island rolls given upon 
previous pages, 

GUARDS. 

Besides the frequent calls upon the militia for troops to 
go beyond the state line upon sudden alarms, or during 
some temporary emergency, there were constant details 
for guard duty within the state ; and among the papers of 
company commanders in the revolution are found many 
requisitions like the following : 

Harvard, March 21, 1778. 

To Capt. Dflvid Nurse. Sr. in consequence of orders I Rec'^ from 
Gen" Warner he having Rec'^ orders from the General Court of this State ^ 
Baring Dait the 9 of this Instant and I am ordered to Detach 46 men out 
of my Reg', non-commisioned officers and privit soldiers to Do duty at or 
near Boston till the 2 day of July next unless Sooner Discarged : your cota 
is fore men which you are to Detach from your company without Delay, 
s"^ men to be Equiped with arms and amonition acording to law and to be 
at head-qurters at Boston on the 2 Day of April next with out fail ther to 
Rec'= further order & it is Resolved that if any noncommissoned officer or 
privit soldier so drafted as afores'' shall Neglect or Refuse to march in con- 
sequence heirof he shall hire an able bodyed man in his Rome or pay a 
fine of Ten pounds within twenty-fore hours, or shall be considered as a 
soldier in that detachment, and y*^ Capt or commanding officer of the com- 
pany shall cause others to be drafted in stead of those who pay their fines ; 
or other men to be hired with said fines and you make Return of your 
doings and the names of the men so Drafted. 

You are ordered to view the arms of both Lists and their acotrements 
& see that they are Compleet acording to Law and at a minits warning and 
make Return of the number you have on Both Lists of men : and ther 
arms and ther Equipments : these Returns must be made to me by the 20 
Day of this Instant without fail. 

Yours to Serve. J. Whitney Coll. 



176 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



A Pay Roll of Capt. yohn White's Company in Colo Abijah Steams' Regi- 
fnetit of Militia iii the State of Mass. Bay. Doing Duty at and nea r 
Boston from the first Day of April Untill the Second Day of July 
1778. 

LANCASTER MEN. 



John White, captain. 
NatW. Beaman, lie^it. 
Samuel Snow, sergt. 
Samuel Johnson, corp. 
Abel Sawyer, 
Abel Allen, 
Elisha Woods, 



Elisha Phelps, 
Ephraim White, 
Ebenezer Burditt, 
John Wheelock, 
James Wilder, 
Jonathan Whitcomb, 
Levi Robbins, 



Oliver Wheelock, 
Phinehas Wilder, 
Reuben Ross, 
Thomas Moore, 
Samuel Brown, 
Abraham Headley. 



LEOMINSTER MEN. 



Sergt. John Low, 
Benjamin Johnson, 
Benjamin Stearns, 



Joseph Johnson, Phineas Carter, 

Josiah Whitcomb, Samuel Boutwell, 
Nathaniel Joslin, John Kidder. 



There were sixty-nine men in the company, those 
omitted here being of Asliburnham, Princeton and Lunen- 
burg. 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxiv, 49,] 

In Colonel Nathan Sparhawk's regiment, Captain James 
Mirick's company, near Boston, September to December, 
1778, were : 

OF LANCASTER. 

Phineas Phelps. 



Solomon Fleeman, 
Reuben Gates, 



Benjamin Hale, 
Elisha Johnson, 



William Coolidge, 
Barnabas Sawyer, 



David Baldwin, 
America Hamlin, 
Oliver Haskell, 



OF BOLTON. 

Richard Townsend, Abel Wilder. 

OF HARVARD. 

Daniel Page, 
John Parker, 
Walter Pollard, 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XXI, 125.] 



Ephraim Whitney, 
Stephen Whitney. 



Extensive barracks were built at Rutland, and the Eng- 
lish regiments of General Burgoyne's troops, prisoners of 



GUARDS. 



177 



war, were removed thither from Cambridge, at which 
place they were thought too easily accessible if the British 
forces, by sudden raid from Newport, should attempt their 
release. The transfer was made during April, 1779. The 
guards employed were many of them boys, old men, and 
others unfit for field service. 



Continental Pay Roll of Capt. Elias Pratfs Co. of Guards doing duty at 
Rutland. \_April to fnly, ij'jc).'] 



Jabez Fairbank, liejit. 
Stephen Nowel, sergt. 
John Atherton, " 
Benjamin Buss, " 
David Wheelock, " 
John Roper, cor p. 
Samuel Barnard, " 
Nathan Adams, 
Samuel Allen, 
Jonathan Barnard, 
John Blanchard, 



Samuel Brooks, 
Rufus Carter, 
Jonas Chase, 
John Divol, 
Samuel Foster, 
Samuel Hoar, 
Abel Houghton, 
Jonas Johnson, 
Elias Joslin, 
Reuben Lipenwell, 
Rufus Moore, 



Walter Pollard, 
Abiah Rice, 
Daniel Rice, 
Silvester Roper, 
John Scollay, 
David Stone, 
Amos Tenney, 
James Thompson, 
Hananiah Whitney, 
Luther Wilder, 
etc 



[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, xxv, 123.] 



Continental Pay Roll 
Duty 

Sergt. John Persons, 
Nathan Adams, 
Gideon Beaman, 
Benjamin Carter, 
Zimri Eveleth, 
Jacob Fairbank, 
Peter Fletcher, 



for Capt. Ephraini HartwelPs Company Doing 
at Rutland Oct. 1779 to April 1780. 



Calvin Greenleaf, 
Daniel Greenleaf, 
Daniel Hazeltine, 
Samuel Kilburn, 
Joseph Larkin, 
Jonathan Moore, 



Walter Pollard, 
Samuel Prentice, 
Jonathan Tucker, 
Luther Wilder, 
Reuben Wilder, 
Daniel Willard, 

etc 

[Mass, Archives, Muster Rolls, xxv, 120.] 



MARINE SERVICE. 

Lancaster furnished a few volunteers for the privateers 
that did efficient service on the coast, but the names of two 
only have come down to us. Reverend Timothy Harring- 
ton records their deaths thus : 

Joseph Wilder, Jun"'. of y'= Small Pox at sea. 
Joseph Phelps, died of his wounds in a sea fight. 



178 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

VL CONTINENTAL ARMY. 

The returns of enlistments for three years or during the 
war, made by the towns in obedience to an order of Gen- 
eral Court passed February 3, 1778, are found in Massa- 
chusetts Archives, xlii. At that time few towns had filled 
their quotas under the first call, which required one-seventh 
of the males above sixteen years of age : 

Lancaster. No. of males 672. One seventh 96. In service 91. Wanting 5. 

Harvard. " 341 " 49 " 48 " i. 

Bolton. " 299 " 43 " 42 " I. 

Leominster. " 216 " 31 " 32 " o. 

The terms of service of these "Continentals" mostly 
ended in the spring of 1780, when new levies were called 
for. Ten men were sent from Lancaster at that time. 
The third requisition came at the close of the same year. 

Return of men procured, agreeable to Resolve of 7.d Dec. 1780, taken 
from the Stiperintendenf s Returns as well as front the Reticrns fnade 
by the Several Towns : 

Lancaster, 35 men «Jemanded, 34 procured. 
Bolton, 16 " 16 " 

Leominster, 13 " 13 " 

Harvard, 15 " 15 " 

In March, 1782, a call was issued under which Lancas- 
ter's quota was seven. The sum of Lancaster's three- 
years quota was therefore 148 ; and the records prove that 
the requisitions were filled, although at last enormous 
bounties were in a few cases paid to hireling substitutes 
and "bounty-jumpers ;" and numerous contentions arose 
between towns over their rival claims to particular soldiers. 
The three-years' men were all volunteers, recourse being 
had to a draft only in case of short-service calls. 

.... Resolve, to stop proceedings on Execution vs. assessors of Lan- 
caster issued by mistake by late Treas'". Gardner for not assessing a class, 
for the raising one of the 3 years men for Continental army 1781 : it ap- 
pears that the town had raised their full quota of men and that they had 
actually joined the army when the Execution was issued. 

[Court Records, XLIV, 244 ; Nov. 2, 1782.] 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 1 79 

On pet", of Hon. Jn°. Sprague on behalf of Lancaster for the abate- 
ment of a fine and allowance of a bounty to sd. town for reasons set forth 
in sd. petition — Resolved, that the fine be abated and bountyal lowed, the 
town having procured the whole of the men required by the resolve. 

[A deficiency of one man had been reported under resolve of Dec. 

2, 1780.] 

[Court Records, XLV, 58.] 

the Class in Lan"". of which Jabez Fairbank was the head, hired 

a soldier for the Continental army for 3 years and liberated him from jail 
at expense of 100^, supposing they had an undoubted right to s'^ soldier, 
but afterwards he was challenged and by muster-master determined to be- 
long to Rutland, and thus this class is deficient and liable to the fine 
annexed. Rutland was ordered to return 90^ to J. F. whose class is 
allowed 30 days to procure another man and execution is staid meanwhile, 
but to issue if they neglect to procure and muster a soldier and march him 
to Springfield and procure a receipt therefor, beyond the town. 

Court Records, XLIII, 292 ; Feb. 20, 1782.J 

In accordance with a custom of the period, the town 
had been divided into as many "squadrons" or "classes" as 
there were soldiers required for the quota — thirty-five ; and 
each class was expected to furnish a volunteer for three 
years. The amount of bounty paid was regularly assessed 
upon the citizens of the class, and by law was collectable 
like any other rate, the constable taking the body of the 
debtor if the assessment was not speedily forthcoming. If 
no person could be found willing to serve for such sum as 
the class would agree to pay, lots were cast to decide which 
member of the class should go. The man upon whom 
such lot fell had to enter the army for the remainder of 
that year, or supply a substitute. 

The records of the continental soldiers serving for Lan- 
caster, or residents of the town, 1777-1780, will be given 
in order of regiments, with dates of enlistment, names of 
captains under which they served, and such other facts of 
interest as have been ascertained. No representative of 
the town is found in the First or Ninth Massachusetts Con- 
tinental regiments. The service was for three years unless 
specified. Nearly all the Massachusetts regiments partici- 
pated in the battles that caused the surrender of Burgoyne, 



l8o ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

and were, during their remaining terms of service, for the 
most part stationed along the Hudson, 

Second Massachusetts, Colonel John Bailey. 

Joseph House, lieutenant, Jan. i, 1777, to August i, 1778; resigned. 
Perley Rogers, a negro, corporal, March 18, 1777, Capt. Hugh MaxwelL 
Charles Stuart, a mulatto, deserted May 20, 1777. " " 

Third Massachusetts, Colonel John Greaton, 

Joseph Bailey, Jan. i, 1777, Capt. Samuel Foster. 

Jabez Beaman, Feb. 4, 1777, Capt. Charles Colton ; claimed by Harvard. 

Eleazar Priest, Jan. 17, 1777, Capt. Job Sumner; "with Qr. Mr. General." 

Fourth Massachusetts, Colonel William Shepard. 

James Battels, Jan. 31, 1777, Capt. George Webb ; claimed by Leominster. 
John Battels, April I, 1777; " " " " 

Fifth Massachusetts, Colonel Rufus Putnam. 
This regiment was prominent in the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga. 
In Captain Job WhippWs Cojnpany : 
Cornelius Baker, corporal, Feb. i, 1777. 
Abel Bigelow, drummer, Feb. 10, 1777. 
Jonas Carter, Jan. 10, 1777; a Lunenburg man, hired. 
Joshua Johnson, May 10, 1777. 

Jacob Kilburn, corporal, Feb. 10, 1777 ; promoted sergeant. 
William Prentice, May 26, 1777. 
John Wheeler, March 26, 1777. 
Peter Willard, June i, 1777. 

In Captain Jonathan GoodaWs Company : 
James Sawyer, June 20, 1777; discharged March 9, 1779; hired by 
Princeton. 

(Lemuel Shed and David Fleeman enlisted in this regiment but "never 
joined." For Shed, see Tenth regiment.) 

Sixth Massachusetts, Colonel Thomas Nixon. 
This regiment was present in battles of Stillwater, Saratoga, etc. 
Zimori Eveleth, drummer, Dec. 19, 1779, Capt. Benjamin Heywood. 
Aaron Glazier, Feb. 12, 1777 ; served 46 m. 19 d. ; Capt. Adam Wheeler. 
Gershom Flagg, May 26, 1777, Capt. Simon Learned. 
Abijah Phillips, Feb. 22, 1779, Capt. Samuel Flowers. 
Burpee Prouty, Dec. 19, 1779, Capt. Japheth Daniels. 
Paul Sawyer, Jan. i, 1777; served four years; Capt. William Toogood. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. lOI 

Seventh Massachusetts, Colonel Ichabod Alden, killed; Lt. Col- 
onel John Brooks. 

Jacob Allen, 1781, Capt. Eliphalet Thorp. 

Shubael Bailey, 1781, Capt. Rufus Lincoln; claimed for Leominster. 

Eighth Massachusetts, Colonel Michael Jackson. 
Timothy Wilder, Aug. i, 1777, Captain James Varnum. 

Tenth Massachusetts, Colonel Thomas Marshall. 

This regiment was engaged in battles of Stillwater, Saratoga, etc. 

In Captain Samuel King'^s Company : 

John Hewitt, lieutenant, Jan. i, 1777, to Nov. i, 1778. 

Samuel Blodget, enlisted 1777, by town returns; not found in pay certifi- 
cates. 

Philip Corey, sergeant, January, 1777; sergeant-major; ensign, Decem- 
ber, 1780; lieutenant; served four years. 

Samuel Corey, fifer, Jan. i, 1777. 

Elijah Dole, corporal, Jan. i, 1777; died July 30, 1778. 

Peter Franklin, a negro, died April 21, 1777. 

Ephraim Fuller, July 7, 1779, aged sixteen. 

Gideon Georges, a negro, Aug. 10, 1777, aged 17 ; claimed by Bolton. 

Job Lewis, a negro, Jan. i, 1777 ; "on wagon service." 

Abel Moor, Jan. i, 1777, died April i, 1777; claimed by Bolton. 

Jacob Lyden Parker, enlisted 1777, by town returns; not found in fay 
certificates. 

Jacob Phelps, sergeant, Jan. i, 1777. 

John Priest, wounded and discharged, Feb. 27, 1778. 

James Russeil, sergeant, Jan. i, 1777. 

Robert Skinner, Jan. i, 1777, died April 14, 1779; claimed by Bolton. 

Cornelius Tigh, Jan. i, 1777 ; a substitute; claimed by Boston, etc. 

David Whitcomb, Jan. i, 1777; died April 28, 1778. 

Francis Whitcomb, Jan. i, 1777 ; invalided because of wound. 

Asa Wyman, March i, 1780, aged seventeen. 

John Wyman, corporal, July 10, 1779, ^o^d seventeen. \ 

In Captain William Parks'' Company : 
Julius Caesar, a negro, Nov. 26, 1779, aged nineteen. 
Robert Richardson, Oct. 7, 1779. 
Lemuel Shed, Oct. 23, 1779. 

In Captain William Warner'' s Company : 
Edom London, a negro slave, Jan. i, 1777; claimed by Winchcndon. 
Levi Priest, March 22, 1777. 
John Warner, corporal, Jan. 27, 1777; promoted sergeant, April i, 1779. 



102 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

In Captain Josiah Smith's Company : 
Samuel Herring, corporal, Jan. 17, 1777. 

Eleventh Massachusetts, Colonel Ebenezer Francis, killed; 
Colonel Benjamin Tupper. 

Lazarus Batherick, Feb. 28, 1780; in town returns, "enlisted with Capt. 
Ezra Lunt for Col. Henley." 

Stephen Thompson, by town returns, "enlisted in Captain Steele's com- 
pany. Colonel Francis ;" not in pay certi^cates. 

Twelfth Massachusetts, Colonel Samuel Brewer ; Lieut. -Col. 

Ebenezer Sproat. 
John Whiting, ensign, promoted to lieutenant, July 5, 1779. 
Abiah Rice, corporal, Jan. i, 1780, Capt. John Pray. 

Thirteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Edward Wigglesworth ; 

Lieut. -Colonel Calvin Smith. 
In Co)npa7iy of Capt. Peter Page, successor to Capt. Matthew Fairfield. 
Winslow Phelps, ensign, Jan. i, 1777; resigned Dec. 26, 1777. 
Benjamin Ballard, sergeant, Feb. 19, 1777. 
Samuel Ballard, Feb. 20, 1777; bounty paid by Bedford, 
John Dollerson, March 15, 1777; served 45 m. 16 d.; claimed by Boltoti 

and Stow. 
Peleg Rodman, Feb. 12, 1777; died June 2, 1778. 

In Company of Captain Christian Woodbridge : 
Thomas Wright, March i. 1780; deserted Oct. 2, 1780. 

Fourteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Gamaliel Bradford. 

In Captain Zebedee Redding'' s Company : 
Jonathan Sawyer, lieutenant, Jan. i, 1777 ; killed by Indians, July 19, 1777. 
Samuel Bennett, corporal, Jan, i, 1777; discharged December, 1778, 
Nathan Easterbrooks, corporal, Jan, 9, 1777. 
Isaac Eveleth, April, 1777, re-enlisted 1781 ; aged forty-seven. 
William Eveleth, Feb. 2, 1777; died Oct. 6, 1779. 
Luther Fairbank, sergeant, Jan. 10, 1777; discharged Nov, 20, 1777. 
Abel Fairbank, Jan. 9, 1777; died Nov, 26. 1777. 
George Richardson, corporal, Jan. 30, 1777. 
Benjamin Wheelock, April 4, 1777. 

Jonathan Wheelock, drummer, Jan. 2. 1777; promoted to drum-major. 
Joseph Wheelock, Feb. 4, 1777; died March 10, 1778. 
James Willard, Feb. 12, 1777. 

Samuel Woods, May 26, 1777; taken prisoner ; discharged 1781. 
Daniel Wyman, Jan. 30, 1777; died Aug. 16, 1778. 

In Captain Isaiah StetsotCs Company : 
Jabez Brooks, sergeant, Jan. i, 1777. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 183 

Fifteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Timothy Bigelow of Worcester. 

This regiment was engaged in battles of Stillwater, Saratoga and Mon- 
mouth ; and stationed at Verplank's Point, Robinson's Farms, N. J., 
Peekskill, Valley Forge, West Point. 
Henry Haskell, lieutenant-colonel, Jan i, 1777, to July i, 1779; mustered 

out as supernumerary; died at Lancaster, June 10, 1807. 
Ephraim Sawyer, Jr., lieutenant, Jan. i, 1777, resigned Oct. i, 1777, to 

accept captaincy in Sixteenth Massachusetts. 

In Captain Joseph Hodgkins' Company : 

James Armstrong. July 22, 1777. 

Philip Branscomb, drummer, April 26, 1780; deserted; credited to Lan- 
caster on pay certificates. 

Thomas Cleland, corporal, April 3, 1777; promoted sergeant; served 44 
m. 28 d. 

Asa Farrar, May 27, 1777. 

Stephen Frost, March 11, 1777; discharged February, 1778. 

Ebenezer Glazier, May 20, 1777. 

Joshua House, by town returns enlisted 1777 ; not found iti pay certificates . 

Reuben Kendall, a negro, Sept. 10, 1777. 

Israel Manning, corporal, April i, 1777. 

Judah Piper, April 21, 1777. 

Luther Rice, Feb. 25, 1777. 

Abner Sawyer, Sept. i, 1777; died Nov. 10, 1777. 

Onis Simes, Sept. i, 1777; died Dec. i, 1777. 

Aaron Willard, May 2, 1777. 

Levi Wilder, May 24, 1777. 

Abel Wright, March 25, 1777 ; died July 2, 1778. 

In Company of Captain Sylvanus Smith : 

John Dresser, March 10, 1777; died June 29, 1778. 
Elihu Goss, May 20, 1777; died July 6, 1778. 
Matthias Larkin, sergeant, May 20, 1777; died April 13, 1778. 
Levi Larkin, Sept. 3, 1777. 

Edmund Milligen, enlisted 1777, by town returns; 7wt found in pay cer- 
tificates. 
Nathan Osgood, Sept. i, 1777; discharged April 2, 1779. 
Seth Ross, drummer. May 2, 1777. 

Asa Rugg, enlisted 1777, by town returns; not fouiid in pay certificates. 
Caleb Whitney, Sept. i, 1777; died Dec. 10, 1777. 

In Company of Captain William Gates — foseph Pierce'' s, later : 
Artemas Maynard, sergeant. May 29, 1777. 
Matthew Wyman, May 16, 1777; credited to Lunenburg. 
Joshua Whitney, sergeant, Aug. 10, 1777. 



184 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

In Company of Captain Edward Munroe, (Bowen, in town returns): 
William Boardman, May 15, 1777; re-enlisted 1781. 
Thomas Grant, March 7, 1781, aged 52; hired by Princeton. 



Elisha Houghton, sergeant. May i, 1777, Capt. Joshua Brown; claimed 

by Harvard. 
Joseph Jones, Nov. 10, 1777, Capt. Paul Ellis. 

Sixteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Henry Jackson. 

This regiment was formed in April, 1779, by combining 
the three battalions of Colonels David Henly, William R. 
Lee and Henry Jackson, organized under a call for sixteen 
continental regiments in addition to the original eighty- 
eight formed early in 1777. None of the sixteen regiments 
were filled, and they were finally consolidated in spite of 
the great dissatisfaction caused both among men and offi- 
cers. Among those enlisted especially for Colonel Henly, 
were many soldiers from the army of Burgoyne, then pris- 
oners of war. These for the most part deserted as soon as 
opportunity offered. Colonel Jackson's regiment was in 
the expedition against the British force at Newport in 1778. 

Ephraim Sawyer, Jr., captain, Dec. 26, 1777 ; supernumerary April 9, 1779. 
William Harris, pay-master, died Oct. 30, 177S. 

Serving in Company of Captain Thomas Turner : 
Alixus Bear, Jan. 21, 1779; deserted April 25, 1779. 
Nathaniel Brown, May 11, 1780; claimed by Leominster. 
Nicholas Brune, May 27, 1777; deserted April i, 1779. 
John Kilburn, July 13, 1777 ; enlisted by Capt. Ezra Lunt for Col. Henley. 
John Newman, fifer, Jan. i, 1779; claimed by Boltoti. 
William Staples, May 26, 1777; deserted April 17, 1779. 
William Taylor, Sept, 27, 1777 : deserted Oct. 25, 1779 ; enlisted by Capt. 

Lunt for Col. Henley. 
Peter Tew, Dec. 8, 1777; deserted April i, 1779. 
Isaac Warren, Sept. 24, 1777; enlisted by Capt. Lunt for Col. Henley. 

Massachusetts Artillery, Artificers, etc. Col. Henry Knox 
(Brig. General) ; Col. John Crane; Lieut. -Col. David Mason. 

Enlisted in Capt. John Bryanfs Cotnpany of Artificers : 
John Baker, March i, 1777; also with Capt. Benjamin Frothingham. 
Joseph Bennett, March 30, 1777 ; " " *' 

Josiah Bowers, Sept. 20, 1777; re-enlisted Feb. 2, 1781 ; also with Capt. 
Benjamin Frothingham. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 185 

Ebenezer Flagg, sergt., Jan. 17, 1780 ; also with Capt. Benj. Frothingham. 
Gershom Flagg, Jr., March 8, 1777; " " " 

Ichabod Garey, March 22, 1777; re-enlisted March 3, 1781 ; also with 

Capt. Benjamin Frothingham. 
Thomas Goodwin, matross, March 24, 1777. 
Lemuel Gates, gunner, March 4, 1777 ; served 45 m. 27 d. ; also with 

Capt. David Cook. 
Samuel Gates, gunner, March 4, 1777; served 45 m. 27 d. ; also with 

Capt. David Cook. 
Jacob Wilder, Sept. 20, 1777; also with Knox's Artificers. 

In other Companies : 
William Campbell, 1781, with Capt. Thomas Jackson. 
John Fuller, 1777, by town returns, with "Captain [David] Bradley, 

Colonel [Thomas] Crafts." 
Cain Lewis, a negro, Aug. 17, 1777, with Capt. Thomas Wells; deserted 

January, 1778. 
John McCoy, bombardier, Jan. i, 1777, with Capt. Nathaniel Donnell ; 

served four years. 
Gilbert Mclntyre, April 14, 1777 ; served three years with Capt. Benjamin 

Frothingham. 
Jacob Stiles, Jan. i, 1780; with Captains Thomas Patten and Phineas 

Parker; also in Capt. William Howe's Artificers at Springfield. 
John Wilder ; served under same captains as Jacob Stiles. 

Dragoons. Colonel Elisha Sheldon. 
John Priest, corporal, March 22, 1777, Capt. Nathaniel Crafts. 

First New Hampshire, Colonel Joseph Cilley. 
William Shaw, 1777, with Capt. William Scott. 

Unknown, from town returns, etc. 
Jotham Woods, 1777; re-enlisted 1781. 
John Wheelock, 1777 ; " Capt. Oaks." 
Timothy Whiting, Jr., aide of Quarter-Master-General U. S. A. 

At a town meeting, January 2, 1781, the following action 
was recorded : 

7. Voted to raise our Quota of Men to serve in the Continental Army 
for three years or during y<^ War, agreeable to the Resolve of the General 
Court. 

8. Voted to Choose a Committe of twelve Men to hire the above men. 

9. Chose Israel Moor, Samuel Thurston, Natha^. Beaman, Cyrus 
Fairbank, Jonas Wyman, Josiah Kendall Jun., Capt. Samuel Sawyer, 
Capt. Ephraim Wilder, Eben^ Allen, Josiah Ballard, Dea. Joel Houghton, 
Thomas Brown for s"! Committe. 

13 



l86 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster, January 8, 1781 

3. Voted that above Committe Chosen to hire the Men for 3 years 
service be impowered in every Respect, as the Committe Chosen ye last 
year to hire ye 40 Men sent for by the General Court. 

4. Voted to Dismiss Leut. Ballard from serving in the above Com- 
mitte and Chose Maj : Gardiner Wilder in his Room. 

Lancaster, January II, 1 78 1 

1. Voted to make an addition of Six to ye above Committe for hire- 
ing of Soldiers. 

2. Chose Capt. Nathaniel Balch, Capt. Samuel Ward, Capt. Timothy 
Whiting, W™ Dunsmoor, Esq., James Richardson and Capt. Fortunatus 
Eager for s^ Addition. 

3. Chose Jabez Fairbank as one of the above Committe in the Room 
of Tho^ Brown who was Excused. 

Lancaster, Jany. 28, 1781 

1. Voted to Raise ye Sum of Six Thousand five Hund'^ and Sixty two 
Pounds ten Shillings New Emission Currency to hire ye Soldiers for the 
Army. 

2. Voted that the above sum be Assesed and Collected as soon as 
may be. 

Lancaster, February 5, 1 78 1 

2. Voted to See if the Town will Class in Order to get y'= Men for ye 
Army and it pass"! in ye Negative. 

Lancaster, February 8*, 1781 

I. Voted to See if the Town would Class for ye Purpose of geting y« 
Men for ye Army and it Pass<^ in ye Negative. 

Lancaster, February 19, 1781 

I. Voted to See if the Town would Class and it pass'* in y" Negative. 

2^ Voted to make an Addition of Seventeen to ye Committe for hiring 
Men. 

3"* Voted and Chose for s** Addition ye following Persons viz : Capt. 
David Osgood, Capt. Edward Newton, Nathaniel Houghton, Dea. Levi 
Moore, Dea. Benjamin Houghton, John Brown, Capt. Ephr. Carter, Silas 
Howe, James Kendal Jun., Joseph Reed, Levi Wilder, Heman Kendal, 
Capt. Tho^ Gates, Joseph Sever, Capt. Nath^ Sawyer Jun., Capt. John 
White Jun., Gershom Flagg. 

4. Voted, that the town be divided into 35 Squadrons. 

5. Voted, that the Assessors Divide y*^ Town as equal as they can into 
the above Squadrons. 

6. Chose Aaron Sawyer for a Committee Man instead of Silas How. 

March 16, ... . Voted and Chose Dea. Eben'' Buss, Capt. Benj» 
Richardson, Capt. Ephr'" Carter, Committee of Inspection and Corres- 
pondence. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 



187 



The two first named belonged to Sterling ; after the 
division of the town, Joshua Fletcher and Deacon William 
Willard were chosen in their places. 

Lancaster, April 2, 1781 

Voted to acknowledge what the Assessors have done with Regard to 
Classing the Town as being agreable to ye Act of Court. 

April 25, 1781, Governor Hancock signed the act which 
created from Lancaster territory the town of Sterling. 
Descriptive List of Enlistments, 1781. 





Age. 


^ .Height. 


Complexion. Occupation. Date enlisted. 




Clarck Gibbs, 


SI 


sft 


9 in. light. 


farmer- 


July 5, for 3 yrs. 


Paul Kilborn, 


25 


6 " 




dark. 


joiner. 


March 2, " 


Andrew Haskell, 


33 


r " 


II ' 


' dark. 


farmer. 


July 5 


Ephraim White, 


20 


C " 


6 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


July 6, 


Jeduthan Sawyer, 


18 


5 " 


7 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


July 4, 6 mos. 


Ephraim Larkin, 


18 


5 " 


II ' 


' dark. 


tarmer. 


July 2, 


Thomas Grant, 


52 


5 " 


9 ' 


' light. 


weaver. 


March 7, 3 yrs. 


Samuel Barret, 


18 


5 " 


4 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


July 20, " 


John Carter, 


30 


5 " 


10 ' 


' black. 


farmer. 


March 7, " 


Nathaniel Parkins, 


26 


5 " 


6 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


Jany2i, 


W™. Gould, 


16 


5 " 


6 ' 


' dark. 


farmer. 


March 29, " 


Seth Sampson, 


34 


5 " 


7 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


Feby. 11, " 


Beckes Boston, 


28 


5 " 


5 ' 


' black. 


farmer. 


April 7, 


Isaac Payne, 


24 


5 " 


9 ' 


' light. 


farmer. 


Sept. 24, " 


Nath". Books, 


21 


c " 


10 ' 


' dark. 


farmer. 


Sept. 29, 6 mos. 


Micah Ross, 


22 


5 " 


II ' 


' light. 




March 27, 3 yrs. 


Jonathan Barnard, 


17 


5 " 


4 ' 


' light. 




March 28, 




Patrick Neef, 


45 


5 " 


9 ' 


light. 




June 19, 




James Dunton, 


21 


5 " 


4 ' 


' light. 




March i. 




Ephr"\ Whitcomb 


33 


5 " 


8 ' 


' light. 




May I, 




Chederhom'' Collins 17 


5 " 


3 ' 


' dark. 




June 21, 




Eli Lewis, 


17 


5 " 


2 ' 


' light. 




June 21, 




Josiah Bowers, 


27 


5 " 


II ' 


' ' 


"cordwinder' 


' Feb. 20, 




Isaac Eveleth, 


47 


5 " 


8 ' 


' ' 




farmer. 


Feb. 12, 




James Pratt, 


42 


5 " 


5 ' 


' ' 




" 


May 27, 




George McBride, 


20 


5 " 


7 ' 


' 




«' 


Feb. 20, 




William Flud. 


22 


5 " 


7 ' 






" 


March 26, 




Peter Zwear, 


25 


5 " 


II ' 


' « 




" 


March 28, 




Jesse Wyman, 


48 


5 " 


8 ' 


' 


"dish-turner' 


' April 27, ' 




Ichabod Gary, 


37 


c " 


5 ' 


' 




farmer. 


March 3, 




Calvin Piper, 


18 


5 " 


5 ' 


" 


tanner. 


March 15, ' 




Topsal Woodard, 


16 


5 " 


4 ' 


' bh 


ick. 


farmer. 


Feb. 27, 





ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Age. Height. Complexion. Occupation. Date enlisted. 

Roger Bartlett, 41 S ft. 8 in. light, farmer. March 5, 3 yrs. 

Nathan Tafft, 22 5 " 9 " " saddler. Feb. 13, 

Case Whitney, 37 S " 5 " black, farmer. March 5, 

Jotham Woods, 40 5 " 4 " dark. " March 8, " 

Lemuel Shed, 

Asa Knowlton, 23 5 " 11 " dark (i eye)" March 5, "38 

[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XXXIII, 333-6 ; 386-8.] 

A list of "recruits unfit for service" includes of the 

above : 

Clark Gibbs, 60 years old. Rheumatic and decrepid with age. 

Lemuel Shed, infirm. 

Jotham Wood, 41, bodily deformed. 

Of the seven enrolled for three years to fill the quota of 
Lancaster under the final call, made March i, 1782, Wil- 
liam Deputin is the only one whose name is found, his 
enlistment being attested by the following : 

Worcester, May lo*'^, 1782. 
Received of Lt. Amos Allen, Chairman of Class No. — for the town of 
Lancaster, the sum of Fifty-Four pounds L. Money as a Bounty to serve 
in the Continental army for the term of three years. Witness my Hand. 

William Deputin. 

The chief acts of the great revolutionary drama, after 
the first year's battles, were outside of New England, and 
Lancaster soldiers are more frequently found therefore in 
the six and nine-months' expeditions — in the defence of 
Rhode Island and Boston — in the re-enforcements sent 
upon emergencies to various points along the Hudson — 
among the guards over prisoners of war at Cambridge or 
Rutland. Hence the recorded deaths upon the battle-field 
are comparatively few, while suffering and death from 
small-pox and wasting camp fevers form the text of many 
a sad petition during and after the long contest. As time 
went on and volunteers grew more reluctant, and persua- 
sive bounties became larger, new names were brought into 
Lancaster rolls ; and, as is often the case with hireling 
soldiery, against such names is sometimes set down the 
disgrace of desertion. Of these, some were probably Bur- 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 189 

goyne's soldiers, many of whom enlisted with intent to 
escape. 

It is not claimed that the catalogue of nearly six hun- 
dred names in the foregoing pages gives a completely ac- 
curate enumeration of the men sent out by Lancaster in 
various patriotic service during the Revolution ; although 
it is a labored compilation from scores of volumes of mus- 
ter-rolls and other manuscript records in the state archives 
and various libraries. Many rolls, especially of militia for 
brief terms of service, are undoubtedly lost. Pay-rolls 
very commonly omit all mention of residence ; and among 
the final pay certificates of Massachusetts soldiers for 1777- 
1780, forming twenty volumes, in the Massachusetts Ar- 
chives, there are hundreds of names with no local habita- 
tion attached. A few of these names have been found to 
be undoubtedly Lancastrian. The valuation return of 177 1, 
which practically is a census of tax-payers, has given au- 
thority for claiming some ; petitions and militia rolls have 
led to the discovery of others. Several Lancaster soldiers 
are found serving for the credit of other towns. Moreover, 
so close was the connection of families in the villages that 
had grown out of or about Lancaster, and so frequently 
does the same christian name occur in those families, that 
biographical research is continually running against stumb- 
ling blocks in attempting to assort the re-duplicated Jacobs, 
Johns, Josephs and Jonathans. In short, the difficulty of 
making a roster pretending to anything like completeness 
has been very great, requiring much time and patience. 
The result, however imperfect it may be, is an astonishing 
one, exceedingly honorable to the town. It proves that 
almost every male citizen of military age must have served 
at some period of the war, either personally or by substi- 
tute ; and that fully one-fourth of the whole male popula- 
tion above the age of sixteen were kept constantly in the 
army during the most trying years of the conflict. Nor 
was this exceptional, probably, for the Marquis de Chas- 



190 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

tellux, travelling through New England in 1780, says : 
"Among the men I have met with above twenty years of 
age, of whatever condition, I have not found two who have 
not borne arms, heard the whistling of balls, and even re- 
ceived some wounds." 

The scant and unsystematic records extant, afford us the 
names of thirty Lancaster soldiers, who laid down their 
lives for their country between the date of the battle of 
Bunker Hill and the close of the year 1779. There were 
doubtless others unrecorded. Neither the causes of death, 
nor wounds received, are often mentioned in the rolls, and 
only five of the above thirty are known to have been killed 
in action. 

Those who for various reasons could not bear arms, 
stinted no exertions, no sacrifices in the common cause. In 
the absence of the more stalwart breadwinners, the wives 
and daughters took up their burdens with hands already 
accustomed to toil, and the food harvest knew little diminu- 
tion. The town fathers systematically cared for the needy 
families of those in service, and this care was continued to 
the widows and orphans after the close of the war, such 
expenditure being refunded by the state. In the schedule 
of dues to the towns "for supplies to soldiers' families," 
from 1781 to 1785, contained in Massachusetts Archives, 
XXXI, 66, Lancaster is credited with i852£,,i%,4''. ex- 
pended. 

BOLTON CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS, 1777-9. 

First Regiment. 
Moses Buck, under Capt. Belcher Hancock. 
James Campbell, " " " 

William Coolidge, under Capt. Jeremiah Miller. 
Michael Ferrin, under Capt. Jeremiah Hill ; deserted. 
York Ruggles, under Capt. Moses Ashley; a slave hired. 
Joseph Salt, under Capt. Jeremiah Hill ; deserted. 

Third Regiment. 
John French, corporal, under Capt. Abraham Watrous ; a "stroller" hired. 

Fourth Regiment. 
Moses Hudson, under Capt. Simon Learned. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 191 

Fifth Regiment. 
William Bigelow, sergeant, under Capt. Job Whipple. 
Jeremiah Burnham, " " 

Tenth Regiment. 
In Captain Samuel King'' s Cofnpany: 
Josiah Goddard, Andrew McWain, 

George Gideon, claimed for Lancaster. 
Abel Moore, " " Died April i, 1777. 

Robert Vaughan, credited to Westminster. 

Robert Skinner, "a hired stroller;" died April 14, 1779; credited to Lan- 
caster. 

Twelfth Regiment. 

John Chowen, mulatto, under Capt. Elisha Brewer; not found in pay cer- 
tificates. 

Thirteenth Regiment. 

Benjamin Bailey, under Capt. Ebenezer Smith. 
James Bridge, under "Capt. White," in town reports. 
John Dollerson, under Capt. Peter Page ; claimed for Lancaster. 
Reuben Moore, " " " " 

Fourteenth Regiment. 
In Captain Zebedee Redding'' s Company: 
Isaac Buck, Joseph Houghton, Joseph Pratt, 

John Hastings, Abner Moore, James Snow. 

Fifteenth Regiment. 
In Captain Daniel Barnes's Company : 
John Barnard, Jr., John Burnham, Edward Johnson, Jr., 

Abraham Brigham, sergt., James Crosman, Jonas Johnson, 

Benjamin Bruce. Elijah Foster, Jr., Solomon Jones, 

Daniel Bruce, Corp., Asa Johnson, Job Priest, 

Joseph Woods, corp. 
Edward Howard, sergt., in Capt. Monroe's Co. ; of Concord, hired. 

Sixteenth Regiment. 
Richard Joy, drummer, under Capt. Langdon. 
Daniel McDonald, " " 

John Newman, fifer, under Capt. Thomas Turner. 
Antony Theron, under Capt. Thomas Hunt; a Frenchman, hired. 

Colonel John Crane's Artillery. 
William Whybert, under Capt. Thomas Wells. 

Enlisted 1781, for Three Years. 
Jonathan Ball, Levi Hazard, Jonathan Munger, sailor, 

William Bigelow, John Hill, Plato Negro, 



192 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Timothy Curtis, Rufus Houghton, Abel Priest, 

Haran Eager, James Mclntire, sailor, Thomas Wassels, 

Moses Haskell, John Moore, John Whitney. 

HARVARD CONTINENTAL THREE-YEARS SOLDIERS, 1777-79. 

Second Regiment. 
John Oaks, in "8'^^ company." 
Aaron Sampson, not found itt pay-rolls. 

Third Regiment. 
Jabez Beaman, under Capt. Charles Colton ; claimed for Lancaster. 
Elias Warner, under Capt. Job Sumner. 
James Willis, " " " 

Fifth Regiment. 
Jacob Davis, corporal, under Capt. Job Whipple; died Oct. 23, 1779. 

Sixth Regiment. 
Jeremiah Bridge, in Capt. Adam Wheeler's company. 

Eighth Regiment. 
In Captain Benjamin Browti's Compatiy : 
Sergt. Jabez Keep, Ezekiel Cox, Jonathan Hutchins, 

Corp. Phineas Whitney, Jonathan Farnsworth, Jabez Keep, Jr. 

Samuel Atherton, Israel Hale, Jonathan Stearns, 

Simon Blanchard, William Harris, Luther ToplifF, 

Thomas Burges, Joseph Frye, died February i, 1778. 

Daniel Burt, Abraham Munroe, died March 11, 1778. 

William Stone, killed July 17, 1779. 

Tenth Regiment. 
/n Captain Samuel King's Company : 
Thomas Chamberlain, Reuben Dodge, ensign, Isaac Sanderson. 

Reuben Conant, sergeant. Samuel Finney, corporal. 

Twelfth Regiment. 
Francis Saussure, under Capt. John Pray. 

Fifteenth Regiment. 
/n Captain Joshua Brown's Company : 
Samuel Barret, Levi Farnsworth, William Proctor, 

Zadock Burnham, Manasseh Farnsworth, Consider Turner, corp. 
Titus Coburn, Samuel Farnsworth, John Whitney, 

Elnathan Daby, Jesse Lund, Benjamin Willard, sergt. 

Jonas Davis, Eleazar Parkers, Samuel Worcester. 

Elisha Houghton, sergeant ; claimed for Lancaster. 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 193 

In Captain Sylvanus SmitJi's Company : 
Thomas Burnham, corporal. Joseph Longley, corporal. 

David Parker, under Capt. Edmund Monroe. 

Colonel John Crane's Artillery. 
Joseph Swaughtridge, under Capt. Benjamin Frothingham ; credited to 
Boston. 

Enlisted for Three Years, in 1781. 
Joel Atherton, Nath'. Hellaston [Hazletine] John Scollay, 

John Atherton, Jabez Keep, Titus Tuttle, 

Jonas Davis, Daniel Knight, Elias Warner, 

John Dudley, Asa Mead, Edmund Wentworth, 

Benjamin Hale, Jason Mead, Phineas Whitney. 

LEOMINSTER CONTINENTAL THREE-YEARS SOLDIERS. 1777-9. 

Fourth Regiment. 

/n Captai7i George Webb's Co?npany : 

James Battles, claimed for Lancaster. John Battles, claimed for Lancaster. 

Fifth Regiment. 
In Captain Job Whipple'' s Company: 

Nicholas Durham, Joshua White, Joshua Peirce, 

Richard Patten, Abel Wilder, sergt. Luke Wilson, corporal. 

Benjamin Stuart, Daniel Darling, died December 13, 1777. 

David Stearns, Joshua Prouty, died May 15, 1778. 

Samuel Rogers, sergt., died July 24, 1777. 
Joseph Hoar, under Capt. Haffield White ; deserted. 

Ebenezer Winship, drummer, under Capt. Benjamin Gardner ; claimed by 
Salem. 

Tenth Regiment. 
In Captain William Warner''s Company: 

Luke Aldridge, drummer. John Joslin, Joseph Robbins, 

Levi Blood, Levi Page, Thomas Robbins, 

John Buss, corporal. Asa Priest, 

Silas Carter, Pomp CufFreer, died July 14, 177S. 

Nathaniel Evans, corporal. Micah Nichols, died July 12, 1778. 
Silas Sharon, a servant, died July 14, 1778. 

Twelfth Regiment. 
Luther Marble, in Capt. John Pray's company. 

Colonel Thomas Craft's Artillery. 

/« Captain John GilPs Company: 

William Carpenter, Elisha Davis, Isaac Sollendine. 

Daniel Colburn, 



194 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Enlisted for Three Years, 178 i. 
Shubael Bailey, David Johnson, James Smith, 

Levi Blood, Ephraim Johnson, Josiah Whitcomb, 

Asa Buttrick, David Joslin, Caleb Wood, 

Elisha Davis, Job Priest, Samuel Wood. 

Phineas Rice, 



Vn. LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 

The outburst of rebellion against British tyranny through- 
out Massachusetts was so universal, and the controversy 
so hot with the wrath of a people politically wronged, that 
the term tory comes down to us in history loaded with a 
weight of opprobium not legitimately its own. After the 
lapse of a hundred years the word is perhaps no longer 
synonymous with everything traitorous and vile, but in it a 
national hate has been embalmed, and when it is desirable 
to suggest possible respectability and moral rectitude in 
any member of the conservative party of Revolutionary 
days, it must be done under the less historically disgraced 
title, — loyalist. In fact, in 1775, as always, two parties 
stood contending for principles to which honest convictions 
made adherents. If among the conservatives were timid 
office-holders and corrupt self-seekers, there were also of 
the Revolutionists, blatant demagogues and bigoted parti- 
sans. The logic of success, though a success made possi- 
ble at last only by foreign aid, justified the appeal to arms, 
begun in Massachusetts before revolt was prepared or 
thought imminent elsewhere. Now, to the careful student 
of the situation, it seems among the most premature and 
rash of all the great rebellions in history. But for the pre- 
cipitancy of the uprising, and the patriotic frenzy that fired 
the public heart at news of the first bloodshed, many ripe 
scholars, many soldiers of experience, might have been 
saved to aid and honor the building of the republic, instead 
of being driven into ignominious exile by fear of mob vio- 
lence and imprisonment, and scourged through the century 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. I95 

in story as enemies of their country. In and about Lan- 
caster the loyalists were an eminently respectable minority. 
At first, indeed, not only those naturally conservative by 
reason of wealth, or pride or birthright, but the majority of 
the intellectual leaders, both ecclesiastic and civilian, dep- 
recated revolt as downright suicide. They denounced the 
Stamp Act as earnestly, they loved their country, in which 
their all was at stake, as sincerely as did their radical 
neighbors. Some of them, after the bloody nineteenth of 
April, acquiesced with such grace as they could in what 
they now saw to be inevitable, and tempered with prudent 
counsel the blind zeal of partisanship ; thus ably serving 
their country in her need. Others would have awaited the 
issue of events as neutrals ; but such the committee of 
safety, or a mob, not unnaturally treated as enemies. 

On the highest rounds of the social ladder stood the 
great-grandsons of Major Simon Willard, the Puritan com- 
mander in the war of 1675. These three gentlemen had 
large possessions in land, were widely known throughout 
the Province, and were held in deserved esteem for their 
probity and ability. They were all royalists at heart, and 
all connected by marriage with royalist famiHes. Abijah 
Willard, the eldest, had just passed his fiftieth year. He 
had won a captaincy before Louisbourg when but twenty- 
one, and was promoted to a colonelcy in active service 
against the French ; was a thorough soldier, a gentleman 
of stately presence and dignified manners, and a skilful 
manager of affairs. For his first wife, he married Eliza- 
beth, sister of Colonel William Prescott ; for his second, 
Mrs. Anna Prentice ; he had recently married a third part- 
ner, Mrs. Mary McKown, of Boston. He was the wealth- 
iest citizen of Lancaster, kept six horses in his stables, and 
dispensed liberal hospitality in the mansion inherited from 
his father. Colonel Samuel Willard. By accepting the ap- 
pointment of councillor — qualifying himself by the requi- 
site oath August 15, 1774 — he became at once obnoxious 



196 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

to the patriots, and, on the twenty-fourth of the month, 
when visiting Connecticut on business connected with his 
large landed interests there, he was arrested by the citizens 
of the town of Union, who the next day conveyed him to 
Brimfield. There a mob of four hundred persons, after an 
informal trial, condemned him to imprisonment in the 
nearest jail, and began the march thither, having first tarred 
and feathered Captain Davis of Brimfield, whose indiscreet 
words had especially angered them. Whether their wrath 
became somewhat cooled by the colonel's bearing, or by a 
six-mile march, they released him upon his signing a paper 
dictated to him, of which the following is a copy, printed 
at the time in the Boston Gazette and other papers ; 

SxuRBRmGE, August 25, 1774. 
Whereas I Abijah Willard, of Lancaster, have been appointed by 
mandamus a Counsellor for this Province, and have without due Consider- 
ation taken the oath, do now freely and solemnly declare that I am heartily 
sorry that I have taken the said oath, and do hereby solemnly and in good 
faith promise and engage that I will not sit or act in the said Council, nor 
in any other that shall be appointed in such manner and form, but that 
I will, as much as in me lies, maintain the Charter Rights and Liberties of 
this Province ; and do hereby ask the forgiveness of all honest, worthy 
Gentlemen that I have offended by taking the abovesaid oath ; and desire 
this may be inserted in the publick prints. 

Witness my hand. Abijah Willard. 

[American Archives, IV, I, 731.] 

From that time forward Colonel Willard lived quietly at 
home until the nineteenth of April, 1775 ; when, setting 
out in the morning on horseback to visit his farm in Bev- 
erly, where he had planned to spend some days in superin- 
tending the planting, he was turned from his course by the 
swarming out of minute-men at the summons of the cour- 
iers bringing the alarm from Lexington, and we next find 
him with the British in Boston. He never saw Lancaster 
again. It is related that, on the morning of the seventeenth 
of June, standing with Governor Gage, in Boston, reconnoit- 
ring the busy scene upon Bunker Hill, he recognized with 
the glass his brother-in-law, Colonel William Prescott, and 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 197 

pointed him out to the governor, who asked if he would 
fight. The answer was : "Prescott will fight you to the 
gates of hell!" or, as another historian more mildly puts 
it : "Ay, to the last drop of his blood." Colonel Willard 
knew whereof he testified, for the two colonels had earned 
their commissions together in the expedition of 1755. 

An officer of so well-known skill and experience as Abi- 
jah Willard was deemed a valuable acquisition, and he was 
offered a colonel's commission in the British army ; but re- 
fused to serve against his countrymen, and at the evacua- 
tion of Boston went to Halifax, having been joined by his 
own and his brother's family. In 1778, he was proscribed 
and banished. Later in the war he joined the royal army, 
at Long Island, and was appointed commissary; in which 
service it was afterwards claimed by his friends that his 
management saved the crown thousands of pounds. A 
malicious pamphleteer of the day, however, accused him 
of being no better than others, alleging that whatever sav- 
ing he effected went to swell his own coffers. Willard's 
name stands prominent among the "Fifty-five," who, in 
1783, asked for large grants of land in Nova Scotia as 
compensation for their losses by the war. In a letter dated 
August 9, 1784, Justice Peter Oliver writes : "Colonel Wil- 
lard, with a thousand refugees, I hear, is embarking for 
Nova Scotia." He chose a residence on the coast of New 
Brunswick, near St. John, which he named Lancaster in 
remembrance of his beloved birthplace, and there died in 
May, 1789, having been for several years an influential 
member of the provincial council. His family returned to 
Lancaster, recovered the old homestead, and, aided by a 
small pension from the British government, lived in com- 
parative prosperity. The son Samuel died on January i, 
1856, aged ninety-six years and four months. His wid- 
owed sister, Mrs. Anna Goodhue, died on August 2, 1858, 
at the age of ninety-five. Memories of their wholly pleas- 
ant and beneficent lives, abounding in social amenities and 
Christian graces, still linger about the old mansion. 



198 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Levi Willard was three years the junior of Abijah. He 
had been collector of excise for the county, held the mili- 
tary rank of lieutenant-colonel, and was justice of the 
peace. With his brother-in-law, Captain Samuel Ward, he 
conducted the largest mercantile establishment in Worces- 
ter county at that date. He had even made the voyage to 
England to purchase goods. Although not so wealthy as 
his brother, he might have rivalled him in any field of suc- 
cess but for his broken health ; and he was as widely es- 
teemed for his character and capacity. At the outbreak of 
hostilities he was too ill to take active part on either side, 
but his sympathies were with his loyalist kindred. He died 
on July Ti, 1775. His partner in business. Captain Samuel 
Ward, cast his lot with the patriot party ; but his son, Levi 
Willard, Jr., graduated at Harvard College in 1775, joined 
his uncle Abijah, went to England and there remained until 
1785, when he returned, to die five years later. 

Abel Willard, though equally graced by nature with the 
physical gifts that distinguished his brothers, unlike them 
chose the arts of peace rather than those of war. He was 
born at Lancaster on January 12, 1732, and was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1752, ranking third in the class. 
His wife was Elizabeth Rogers, daughter of the loyalist 
minister of Littleton. His name was afhxed to the address 
to Governor Gage, June 21, 1774, and he was forced to sign, 
with the other justices, a recantation of the aspersions cast 
upon the people, in that document. He had the distinction 
of being claimed as a personal friend by the leading states- 
man of the Revolution, John Adams. So popularly es- 
teemed was Abel Willard, and so well known his character 
as a peacemaker and well-wisher to his country, that he 
might have remained unmolested and respected among his 
neighbors, in spite of his royalist opinions ; but, whether 
led by family ties or natural timidity, he sought refuge in 
Boston, and quick-coming events made it impossible for 
him to return. At the departure of the British forces for 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 199 

Halifax he accompanied them, and reached London in 
July, 1776. A letter from Edmund Qiiincy to his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Hancock, dated Lancaster, March 26, 1776, con- 
tains this reference to him : 

• . . . . Vm sorry for poor Mrs. Abel Willard, your Sister's near neigh- 
bour & Friend. She''s gone we hear with her husband and Bro. and sons 
to Nova Scotia, p'haps in such a situation and under such circumstances 
of Offense respecting their Wos"" Neighbours as never to be in a political 
capacity of returning to their Houses unless w"^ power & inimical views 
w*^'^ God forbid should ever be the case. 

In 17785 the act of proscription and banishment included 
Abel Willard's name. His health gave way under accu- 
mulated trouble, and he died, as recorded in the diary of 
Peter Oliver, "of a slow fever in London the first week in 
Nov"". 1781." The estates of Abijah and Abel Willard 
were confiscated. In Massachusetts Archives, cliv, 10, is 
preserved the anxious inquiry of the town authorities re- 
specting the proper disposal of the property they aban- 
doned : 

To the Ho7iourable Provincial Congress now /widen at Watertown in the 
Province of the Massachusetts Bay : 

We the subscribers do request and desire that you would be pleased to 
direct or Inform this province in General or the town of Lancaster in Par- 
tickeler what is best to be done with the Estates of those men which are 
Gone from their Estates to General Gage, and to whose use they shall Im- 
prove them whether for the province or the town where s'' Estate is. 

Ebenezer Allen, 
Cyrus Fairbank, 
Samll. Thurston, 
Lancaster, June 7 day, 1775. The Selectmen of Lancaster. 

The Provincial Congress placed the property in question 
in the hands of the selectmen and committee of safety to 
improve, and instructed them to report to future legisla- 
tures. Finally, Cyrus Fairbank is found acting as the 
local agent for confiscated estates of royalists in Lancaster, 
and his annual statements are among the archives of the 
State. His accounts embrace the property of "Abijah 
Willard, Esq., Abel Willard, Esq., Solomon Houghton, 



200 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Yeoman, and Joseph Moore, Gent." The final settlement 
of Abel Willard's estate, October 26, 1785, netted his cred- 
itors but ten shillings, eleven pence to the pound. The 
claimants and improvers probably swallowed even the 
larger possessions of Abijah Willard, leaving nothing to 
the Commonwealth. 

Joseph Wilder, Jr., colonel, and judge of the court of 
common pleas of Worcester County — as his father had 
been before him — was prominent among the signers of the 
address to General Gage. He apologized for this indiscre- 
tion, and seems to have received no further attention from 
the committee of safety. In the extent of his possessions 
he rivalled Abijah Willard, having increased a generous in- 
heritance by the profits of very extensive manufacture and 
export of pearlash and potash ; an industry which he and 
his brother Caleb were the first to introduce into America. 
He was now nearly seventy years of age, and died in the 
second year of the war. 

Joseph House, at the evacuation of Boston, went with 
the army to Halifax. He was a householder, but possessed 
no considerable estate in Lancaster. In 1778, his name 
appears among the proscribed and banished. 

Samuel Stearns, a pensioned loyalist, who died in 1810 
at Dummerston, Vermont, was a native of Lancaster, born 
in 1747, though not there resident at the breaking out of 
the revolution. He is noted as having published the first 
nautical almanac ever printed in the United States, Decem- 
ber, 1782. The famous astronomer, William Herschel, F. 
R. S., was his personal friend, and married his sister. Dr. 
Stearns lived for several years in England, and obtained 
the degrees of M.D. and L.L. D. in some foreign college. 
Besides his almanacs, he published other scientific works. 
William Lincoln, in his history of Worcester, speaks of 
him as an "astrologer, almanac manufacturer and quack by 
profession." During the Shay's Insurrection a number of 
the insurgents at Worcester, became alarmingly nauseated 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 20l 

after imbibing freely of a favorite stimulant. They at once 
declared themselves poisoned ; and Dr. Stearns, then of 
Paxton, professed to detect "antimony and arsenic" in the 
dregs of their cups. This naturally raised a furious clamor, 
and bloody vengeance was threatened, when a local physi- 
cian discovered that the pretended deadly drug was nothing 
but snuff, which had accidentally got mixed with the brown 
sugar used in the toddy and raised an insurrection of its 
own in the stomachs of the topers. 

The following advertisement by the Lancaster Commit- 
tee of Correspondence appeared in the Massachusetts Spy 
for Wednesday, August i6, 1775, and proves that though 
the word boycott may be modern, the principle thus desig- 
nated is revolutionary : 

Lancaster, July 17''^, 1775. 
Whereas Nahum Houghton being complained of as being an enemy to 
his Country, by officiating as an unwearied Pedlar of that baneful herb 
TEA, and otherwise rendering himself odious to the inhabitants of this 
Town, and notwithstanding being warned, he did not appear before the 
Committee that his political principles might be Known. This therefore 
(agreable to a vote of said Town) is to caution all friends to the Com- 
munity, to entirely shun his Company, and have no manner of dealings or 
connections with him, except acts of common humanity. 

John Prescott, Chairman. 

To this, reply was made in the Spy for September 6, 
which is given at length as illustrating well the methods of 
the patriot committees, and some curious customs of the 
times : 

Mr. Thomas, A PIECE having appeared in your paper under the sig- 
nature of John Prescot, in which I am complained of as an enemy to my 
country, by officiating as an unwearied pedlar in that baneful, herb tea, and 
otherwise rendering myself odious to the inhabitants of this town ; and 
also for not appearing before the committee to make known my political 
principles when requested so to do ; I beg leave by a plain account of the 
matter, to let the public see how well their complaints are founded. — I sold 
tea about a twelve month ago ; the people assembled and told me they 
were dissatisfied with me for selling it, notwithstanding nearly a quarter 
part of that assembly had bought tea of me. I settled the affair with them 
at that time by agreeing not to sell any more untill there should be an 
14 



202 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

alteration in the towns ; nor have I counteracted the resolve of the Conti- 
nental Congress in buying or selling tea at any time. How I have ren- 
dered myself in any other way odious to the inhabitants of this town I 
know not, and till an instance of that kind is pointed out it cannot be ex- 
pected that I should make any reply to that complaint. With regard to 
my not appearing before the committee agreable to their warning, I would 
observe, that I was warned to appear the very day on which I had engaged 
to set out on a journey to take the small pox ; when I returned I threw 
myself in the way of the committee and went before them ; they demanded 
of me satisfaction for my past conduct. I asked them in what particular ; 
they said on account of my not appearing before the committee when or- 
dered. I told them the reason of my not appearing before them was on 
account of my going to take the small pox &c. Then one of the commit- 
tee asked the chairman whether I should hear what the others had con- 
sented to, meaning those whom they had examined for supposed tories ; 
they put it to vote, and it passed in the negative. Then they gave me 
leave to make my own declaration, and I wrote what follows : 

Gentlemen of the Committee, I am called before you this day to make 
known my political principles, to answer for my past conduct ; what you 
have against me I am not able to say, but as you insist upon something 
from me I make this declaration viz : I am willing to stand by charter 
rights and privileges granted us by King William and Queen Mary, and to 
take up arms in the defence of my country when thought proper, and as 
for treating the committee ill when I went to have the small pox I had no 
such design. 

Now I appeal to the public whether in justice I ought to be deemed as 
an enemy to my country, and thus held up to public odium, for conducting 
as above. Nahum Houghton. 

Lancaster, August 28th, 1775. 

In the Boston Gazette for March 9, 1778, is the follow- 
ing communication : 

With the troops that surrendered with General Burgoyne in October 

last, was a certain Atherton (now provost-master in the British 

service on Prospect Hill), born in Lancaster, in the county of Worcester; 
has been in the service of the United States and having deserted that 
service, joined the British forces at or near Skenesborough and continued 
to act against his country until made prisoner as aforesaid ; he still con- 
tinues his traitorous inveteracy against the United States, threatening the 
lives of the good people, and branding them with the epithet, "damn'd 
rebels," and damning their rebel army ; notwithstanding this is notori- 
ously known, he has been permitted for three months past daily to pass 
and repass from Prospect Hill to Weston, about twelve miles distance, 
where he quarters with a profest enemy to the liberties of America, sur- 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 203 

rounded by an infamous junto of tories, one of which has lately made a very 
private journey to Albany, North River, or as likely New York 

A special town meeting was called on June 30, 1777, 
chiefly "to act on a Resolve of the General Assembly Re- 
specting and Securing this and the other United States 
against the Danger to which they are Exposed by the Inter- 
nal Enemies Thereof, and to Elect some proper person to 
Collect such evidence against such Persons as shall be 
demeed by authority as Dangerous persons to this and the 
other United States of America." At this meeting Colonel 
Asa Whitcomb was chosen to collect evidence against sus- 
pected loyalists, and Moses Gerrish, Daniel Allen, Ezra 
Houghton, Joseph Moor, and Solomon Houghton, were 
voted "as Dangerous Persons and Internal Enemies to this 
State." On September 12 of the same year, apparently 
upon a report from Colonel Asa Whitcomb, it was voted 
that Thomas Grant, James Carter, and the Reverend Tim- 
othy Harrington, "Stand on the Black List." It was also 
ordered that the selectmen "Return a List of these Danger- 
ous Persons to the Clerk, and he to the Justice of the Quo- 
rum as soon as may be." This action of the extremists 
seems to have aroused the more conservative citizens, and 
another meeting was called, on September 23, for the pur- 
pose of reconsidering this ill-advised and arbitrary pro- 
scription, at which meeting the clerk was instructed not to 
return the names of James Carter and the Reverend Tim- 
othy Harrington "on the Black List till after Next Meeting 
on the first Monday in November." 

Thomas Grant was an old soldier, having served in the 
French and Indian War, and, if a loyalist, probably con- 
doned the offence by enlisting in the patriot army ; his 
name is on the muster-roll of the Rhode Island expedition 
in 1777, and in 1781 he was mustered into the service for 
three years. He was about fifty years of age, and a poor 
man, for the town paid bills presented " for providing for 
Tom Grant's Family." 



204 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Moses Gerrish was graduated at Harvard College in 
1762, and reputed a man of considerable ability. Enoch 
Gerrish, probably a . brother of Moses, was a farmer in 
Lancaster who left his home, was arrested and imprisoned 
in York County, and thence removed for trial to Worcester 
by order of the council. May 20, 1778. The following let- 
ter uncomplimentary to these two loyalists is found in Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, cxcix; 278 : 

Sir. The two Gerrishes Moses & Enoch, that ware sometime since 
apprehended by warrant from the Council are now set at Libberty by rea- 
son of that Laws Expiring on which they were taken up. I would move 
to your Hon''^ a new warrant might Isue, Directed to DoC. Silas Hoges to 
apprehend & confine them as I look upon them to be Dangerous persons 
to go at large. I am with respect your Hon''^ most obedient Hum. Ser'. 

Groton 12 of July 1778. James Prescott. 

To the Hone Jereh. Powell Esq. 

An order for their re-arrest was voted by the council. 
Moses Gerrish finally received some position in the com- 
missary department of the British army, and, when peace 
was declared, obtained a grant of free tenancy of the island 
of Grand Menan for seven years. At the expiration of 
that time, if a settlement of forty families with schoolmas- 
ter and minister should be established, the whole island 
was to become the freehold of the colonists. Associated 
with Gerrish in this project was Thomas Ross, of Lancas- 
ter. They failed in obtaining the requisite number of set- 
tlers, but continued to reside upon the island, and there 
Moses Gerrish died at an advanced age. 

Solomon Houghton, a Lancaster farmer in comfortable 
circumstances, fearing the inquisition of the patriot com- 
mittee, fled from his home. In 1779, the judge of probate 
for Worcester County appointed commissioners to care for 
his confiscated estate. 

Ezra Houghton, a prosperous farmer, and recently ap- 
pointed justice of the peace, affixed his name to the address 
to General Gage in 1775, and to the recantation. In May, 
1777, he was imprisoned, under charge of counterfeiting 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 205 

the bills of public credit and aiding the enemy. In Novem- 
ber following he petitioned to be admitted to bail (see Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, ccxvi, 129), and his request was 
favorably received, his bail bond being set at two thousand 
pounds. 

Joseph Moore w^as one of the six slave-owners of Lan- 
caster in 1 77 1, possessed a farm and a mill, and was ranked 
a "gentleman." On September 20, 1777, being then con- 
fined in Worcester jail, he petitioned for enlargement, 
claiming his innocence of the charges for which his name 
had been put upon Lancaster's black list. His petition met 
no favor, and his estate was duly confiscated. [Massachu- 
setts Archives, clxxxiii, 160.] 

At the town meeting of the first Monday in November, 
1777, the names of James Carter and Daniel Allen were 
stricken from the black list, apparently without opposition. 
That the Reverend Timothy Harrington, Lancaster's pru- 
dent and much beloved minister, should be denounced as 
an enemy of his country, and his name placed even tem- 
porarily among those of dangerous persons, exhibits the 
bitterness of party feeling at that date. This town-meeting 
prosecution was ostensibly based upon certain incautious 
expressions of opinion, but appears really to have been 
inspired by the spite of the Whitcombs and others, whose 
enmity had been aroused by his conservative action several 
years before, during the church troubles known as "the 
Goss and Walley war," in the neighboring parish of Bolton. 
The Reverend Thomas Goss of Bolton, Ebenezer Morse 
of Boylston, and Andrew Whitney of Petersham, were 
classmates of Mr. Harrington in the Harvard class of 1737, 
and all of them were opposed to the revolution of the colo- 
nies. The disaffection which, ignoring the action of an 
ecclesiastical council, pushed Mr. Goss from his pulpit, 
perhaps arose more from the political ferment of the day 
than from any advanced views of his opponents respecting 
the abuse of alcoholic stimulants, with which sin he was 



2o6 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

charged. For nearly forty years Mr. Harrington had 
doubtless never omitted from his fervent prayers in public 
assemblies the formal supplication for divine blessing upon 
the sovereign ruler of Great Britain. It is not strange, 
although he had yielded reluctant submission to the new 
order of things, and was anxiously striving to perform his 
clerical duties without offence to any of his flock, that his 
lips should sometimes lapse into the wonted formula, "bless 
our good King George." It is related that on occasions of 
such inadvertence, he, without embarrassing pause, added : 
"Thou knowest, O Lord, we mean George Washington." 
In the records of the town-clerk, nothing is told of the 
nature of the charges against Mr. Harrington, or of the 
manner of his defence. Two deacons, Benjamin Hough- 
ton and Cyrus Fairbank, were sent as messengers "to in- 
form the Rev'' Tim'' Harrington that he has something in 
agitation Now to be Heard in this Meeting at which he has 
Liberty to attend." Joseph Willard, Esq., in 1826, record- 
ing probably the reminiscence of some one present at the 
dramatic scene, says that when the venerable clergyman 
confronted his accusers, baring his breast, he exclaimed 
with the language and feeling of outraged virtue : " Strike, 
strike here with your daggers ! I am a true friend to my 
country ! " 

Among the manuscripts left by Mr. Harrington there is 
one prepared for, if not read at, this town-meeting, con- 
taining the charges in detail, and his reply to each. It is 
headed : "Harrington's answers to ye Charges &c." It is 
a shrewd and eloquent defence, bearing evidence, so far as 
rhetoric can, that its author was in advance of his people 
and his times in respect of Christian charity, if not of 
political foresight. The charges were four in number : the 
first being that of the Bolton Walleyites alleging that his 
refusal to receive them as church members in regular stand- 
ing brought him "under ye censure of shutting up ye King- 
dom of Heaven against men." To this, calm answer is 



LANCASTER LOYALISTS. 207 

given by a review of the whole controversy in the Bolton 
church, closing thus ; 

Mr. Moderator, as I esteemed the Proceedings of these Brethren at 
Bolton Disorderly and Schismatical, and as the Apostle has given Direc- 
tion to mark those who cause Divisions and Offences and avoid them, I 
thought it my Duty to bear Testimony against ye Conduct of both ye 
People at Bolton, and those who were active in settling a Pastor over them 
in the Manner Specified : and I still retain y*^ sentiment and this not to 
shut the Kingdom of Heaven against them, but to recover them from their 
wanderings to the Order of the Gospel and to the direct way to the King- 
dom of Heaven. And I still approve and think them just. 

The second charge, in full, was as follows : 

It appears to us that his conduct hath ye greatest Tendency to subvert 
our religious Constitution and ye Faith of these Churches. — In his saying 
that the Ouebeck Bill was just — and that he would have done the same 
had he been one of ye Parliament — and also saying that he was in charity 
with a professed Roman Catholick, whose Principles are so contrary to the 
Faith of these churches. — That for a man to be in charity with them we 
conceive that it is impossible that he should be in Charity with professed 
New England Churches. It therefore appears to us that it would be no 
better than mockery for him to pretend to stand as Pastor to one of these 
churches. 

To this, Mr. Harrington first replies by the pointed 
question : " Is not Liberty of Conscience and ye right of 
judging for themselves in the matters of Religion one grand 
professed Principle in ye New England Churches ; and one 
Corner Stone in their Foundation?" He then explicitly 
states his abhorrence of " the anti-Christian tenets of Pop- 
ery," adding : " However on the other hand they receive 
all the articles of the Athanasian Creed — and of conse- 
quence in their present Constitution they have some Gold, 
Silver, and precious stones as well as much wood, hay, and 
stubble." He characterizes the accusation in this pithy 
paragraph: "Too much Charity is the Charge here 
brought against me, — would to God I had still more of it 
in ye most important sense. Instead of a Disqualification, 
it would be a most enviable accomplishment in ye Pastor of 
a Protestant New England Church." A sharp argumen- 



2o8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

turn ad homineTn for the benefit of the ultra-radical accuser 
closes this division of his defence. 

But, Mr. Moderator, if my charity toward some Roman Catholicks 
disqualifieth me for a Protestant Minister, what, what must we think of ye 
honorable Congress attending Mass in a Body in ye Roman Catholic 
Chapel at Philadelphia? Must it not be equal mockery in them to pretend 
to represent and act for the United Protestant States? . . . 

The third charge was that he had declared himself and 
one of the brethren to "be a major part of the Church." 
This, like the first charge, was a revival of an old personal 
grievance within the church, rehabilitated to give cumula- 
tive force to the political complaints. The accusation is 
summarily disposed of; the accused condemning the senti- 
ment "as grossly Tyrannical, inconsistent with common 
sense and repugnant to good order ;" and denying that he 
ever uttered it. 

Lastly came the political charge pure and simple. 

His despising contemning and setting at naught and speaking Evil of 
all our Civil Rulers, Congress, Continental and Provincial, of all our 
Courts, Legislative and Executive, are not only subversive of good Order : 
But we apprehend come under Predicament of those spoken of in 2 Pet. 
n. lo, who despise government, presumptuous, selfwilled, they are not 
afraid to speak evil of Dignities &c. 

Mr. Harrington acknowledges that he once uttered to a 
Mr. North this imprudent speech : " I disapprove abhor and 
detest the Results of Congress whether Continental or 
Provincial," but adds that he "took the first opportunity to 
inform Mr. North that I had respect only to two articles in 
said Results." He apologizes for the speech, but at the 
same time defends his criticism of the two articles as arbi- 
trary measures. He also confesses saying that " General 
Court had no Business to direct Committees to seize on 
Estates before they had been Confiscated in a course of 
Law," and " that their Constituents never elected or sent 
them for that Purpose," but this sentiment he claimed that 
he had subsequently retracted as rash and improper to be 
spoken. These objectionable expressions of opinion, he 
asserts, were made "before ye 19th of April 177*5." 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 209 



It is needless to say that the Reverend Timothy Har- 
rington's name was speedily erased from the black list, and, 
to the credit of his people be it said, he was treated with 
increased consideration and honor during the following 
eighteen years that he lived to serve them. In the deliber- 
ations of the Lancaster town-meeting, as in those of the 
Continental Congress, broad views of national independ- 
ence based upon civil and religious liberty, finally prevailed 
over sectional prejudice and intolerance. The loyalist pas- 
tor was a far more consistent republican than his radical 
inquisitors. 



VIII. STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 

The census of 1765 gives brief statistics of the towns 
formed from the territory originally granted to Lancaster, 
which can be conveniently tabulated as follows : — 





Lancaster 


Harvard. 


Bolton. 


Leominster. 


Houses, 


301 


^53 


145 


104 


Families, 


328 


^73 


155 


107 


Inhabitants under sixteen, males, 


514 


276 


234 


186 


" " " females. 


421 


270 


225 


199 


Inhabitants over sixteen, males, 


505 


272 


225 


173 


" " " females, 


532 


296 


239 


180 


Inhabitants, colored, males, 


12 


7 


X 


2 


" " females, 


14 


5 


I 


3 


" Indians, 


I 


French Neutrals, 6 




Total Population, 


1999 


1126 


931 


743 



[Massachusetts Archives, LXXXVIII.] 

A very notable fact in this enumeration is the marked 
preponderance of male children above the female, while the 
male adults are far outnumbered by the other sex. Thus 
nature made compensation for the waste of human life by 
war. The average size of the family was then over six 
individuals. In the census of 1885 the average of the four 
thousand four hundred and sixteen families composing the 
population of the seven towns shaped from the above four, 
is but four and one-half persons. Omitting Clinton, of 



210 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

whose population nearly forty per cent is foreign-born, and 
the average is but four and one-fifth persons. The colon- 
ial census of 1776 gives Lancaster — which included the 
Chocksett Precinct, now Sterling, as well as the territory 
now Clinton, and part of the Boylstons — a population of 
2746. The returns of polls and estates required by the 
government in 1769, 1770, 1771, 1781, 1784 and 1786 
afford a fuller exhibit of the physical and financial ability 
of the town during the outbreak and progress of revolution, 
when every resource of the land was called into service. 
The following compilation from the valuation returns of 
1771, 1781 and 1784 will show the growth of the town 
during an important decade, and afford data for a compari- 
son of the two precincts of Lancaster at the time of their 
final separation : 





*//*• 


l/OJ.. 


Lancaster. 


J4. 

Sterling. 


Polls, 


595 


646 


307 


440 


Dwellings, 


339 


360 


174 


179 


Shops and Stores, 


61 


126 


45 


19 


Tanneries, 




I 


I 


5 


Pot and Pearlash Works, 






2 


5 


Barns, 




330 


167 


150 


Grist, Saw and Fulling Mills, 17 


24 


7 


6 


Horses, 


383 


358 


231 


251 


Oxen, 


529 


513 


231 


248 


Other Neat Cattle, 


1 124 


1428 


883 


1074 


Sheep, 


2310 


3848 


745 


1073 


Swine, 


623 


475 


290 


347 


Pasturage, acres. 


3581 


4484 


141 1 


2861 


Tillage, acres, 


1983 


2207 


1029 


88s 


Grain, bushels. 


26,905 


24,946 






Cider, barrels. 


2689 


2456 


1271 


1942 


English mowing, acres. 


2264 


1806 


720 


971 


English hay, tons. 


1578 








Meadow, acres, 


1957 


2192 


435 


1085 


Meadow hay, tons, 


1463 








Slaves between 14 and 45, 


6 









[Massachusetts Archives, XXXIII, CLXII and CLXIII.] 

Flax, hemp, hops, tobacco, potatoes, turnips and other 
roots, though not included in the valuation, were very im- 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. ill 

portant items in the farmers' crops. During this period 
but seventeen towns in Massachusetts had a larger popula- 
tion than Lancaster, ten of which were in Essex county. 
It was the most populous town in Worcester county, Brook- 
field standing second in rank, and Sutton third. The num- 
ber of shops and mills enumerated in the valuation indicates 
that Lancaster was then not only a commercial centre for 
the sparsely settled towns at the west, but that its citizens 
had turned their attention largely to manufactures and the 
mechanic arts. A letter and the reply, found in Massachu- 
setts Archives, clxxiii and cxlvi, of Council Records, 
afford other confirmation of this : 

Lancaster, July 15, 1777. 
Gentlemen, We the selectmen of Lancaster, have been informed by 
W'". Dunsmore Esq. who represents the town aforesaid, that there is a 
Quantity of Gun Locks for the use of this state at the board of War ; we 
in behalf of said town make application for a Number of said Locks, as 
there is a number of good Gun Smiths in this town who cannot pursue 
that important branch of business for want of Locks, therefore we desire 
that we may have what you think Necessary for said town of Lancaster & 
Gentlemen you will obliege your most humble servants in Complyance with 
the above request. 



Selectmen 

of 
Lancaster . 

To the Gentlemen of the Board of War. 



'' Ephm. Wilder, 
Wm. Greenleaf, 
Samuel Sawyer, 
Solomon Jewett, 

Nath. Beaman. 



State of Massachusetts Bay, Council Chamber, July 17, 1777. 
Ordered that the Board of War be, and they hereby are directed to 
deliver to Doc. William Greenleaf & Mr. Samuel Sawyer and other Select- 
men of Lancaster four hundred wgf^' Lead, one thousand Flints and six 
Doz. Gun Locks for the use of said Town, they paying for the same. 
A true extract from the Minutes of Council. 

Attest Jno. Avery, Dpt. Secy. 

The manufacture of potash and pearlash had attained 
great importance here, the brothers Caleb and Levi Wilder 
sometimes exporting within a twelve-month seventy-five 
tons of potash and double that weight of pearlash. The 
slate quarry in the north part of the town was worked in a 



212 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

modest way, and near by it was a furnace for the casting 
of hollow ware. The cooper was one of the busiest of 
men in every village. But, although boasting a larger 
capital invested in trade and manufactures than any of the 
towns about it, agriculture was the almost universal occu- 
pation of its people. Almost ten bushels of grain, chiefly 
Indian corn, were annually harvested for every man, 
woman and child of its population. In 1885 less than three 
bushels of cereals per inhabitant were raised in the same 
territory, and less than six within Lancaster's present 
bounds. Even if we add the great root crop of these 
later years, it will not bring the food product per individual 
so high as the grain crop alone averaged in the days of the 
Revolution. The supply of beef, mutton and pork upon 
the hoof was then very much greater per inhabitant than 
now. In short, the community, after supplying its own 
wants, had a large surplus of food for sale. The following 
bill is interesting in this connection, giving the prices of 
various provisions during the siege of Boston. It was 
found among some loose files in the Massachusetts 
Archives ; 

The Coliney of the Masachusets Bay Detor to the town of Lancaster 
for Provisions that was sent Down to the armey at Cambrig for the use of 
the solders there is as followeth. Viz : 

the Poork 2129 Pounds and }^ at 6*^ Pr Pound 

to 180 and one % of Veal comes to 

to 1372 Pounds of Bread at 3'^ Pr Pound comes to 

to 145 Pound of Cheas at 4*^ Pr Pound comes to 

to three bushels and 6 Quarts of beans at 6^ Pr bushel 

comes to 
to seven bariels Sider at 7/8 Pr bariel 
to 6 bushels Indian meal at 3 shillings 
to 50 bushels of Potatoes at i /4 Pr bushel 
to 14 Pounds of Mutton comes to 
to 47 Pounds of Salt Beaf comes to 
to 30 bushels and }4 bushel of Rey meal 4** 
to 8 Pounds of Butter 
to 6 Bariels to Carry Don sd Provisions in 
to i8i Pounds of Flower at 2<i Pr Pound 



L. 


s. 


D. Q. 


52- 


- 


7-0 


5- 


15- 


2-0 


5- 


14- 


0-0 


2 - 


8- 


4-0 




19- 


0-0 


2 - 


13- 


8-0 


- 


18- 


0-0 


3- 


6- 


8-0 


- 


2 - 


4-0 


- 


12 - 


I - 


6- 


2 - 


6-0 


- 


4- 


II - 


- 


5- 


4-0 


I - 


10 - 


2-0 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 213 

L. S. D. Q. 
to 6 teames men and Expences and time to convey said 

Provisions to Cambrig 1 1 - 1 1 - 6-0 

to a team and man and Expences to Convey a Great Gun 

by order of Congres to Cambrig 5 - 16 - 0-0 

to Joseph Wheelock 3 Days and Expences to Gard Pow- 
der from Bolton to Brookline o - 9 - 0-0 

to the mending of a Gun that was Lent to a Poor Solder 

& Brook on his Returning home from head Quaters o - 12 - 0-0 

to Joseph Wheelock's son 3 Days and Expences to asist 

in Careing the Great Gun to head Quaters o - 9 - 0-0 

to a man and hors to Carey cloathing to Cambrig and 

expences o - 6 - 0-0 

^94 - 12 - 3-0 

To the Hon''i<' Committee on accts : the Dates of the above accts will 

appear by the a Vouchers sent herewith 

A true acct. errors excepted. 

Wm. Dunsmoor, 

Cyrus Fairbank, 
Saml, Thurston, 
David Osgood, 
Daniel Robbins, 
March i, 1776. Selectmen of Town of Lancaster. 

The continuous and rapid decrease in the purchasing 
power of the paper currency, both state and continental, 
worked severe and universal hardship. Just before the 
revolution Massachusetts was in an enviable financial con- 
dition. The debt incurred in the last war had been paid, 
and a stable metallic medium of exchange had been estab- 
lished ; both silver and gold, though chiefly of foreign 
coinage and not very abundant, were sufficient for trade 
purposes. Such was the variety of coins in circulation, 
and so frequently were these clipped, that traders kept 
scales to determine by weight the value of pieces received. 
By the spring of 1780, it required forty dollars in paper to 
purchase one of silver, and upon that basis of values a new 
emission of bills was made to replace the old paper cur- 
rency. During the next year the new paper money became 
practically worthless. Not only was the depreciation em- 
barrassing in business, but confidence was further impaired 



214 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

by the circulation of numerous well executed counterfeits. 
Forged paper well calculated to deceive was even manu- 
factured in the British camps, and presumably with the 
sanction of the commander-in-chief. We often find town 
officials asking allowance for bad money received in their 
collections of taxes or fines. In the warrant for town- 
meeting in March, 1778, two articles are of this nature : 

3thiy_ to gee if the town will allow Mr Joshua Fletcher a Consideration 
in Regard of the Counterfeit Bills he ReC^. at Worcester of Mr Curtis as 
fines of those Persons that was Drafted to go to the Jersies under Capt. 
Eager 

i4twy. to see if the town will allow Jonas Wyman what Counterfeit 
Money he ReC^. for Rates 1777 .... 

The most innocent persons were at times accused of 
passing counterfeit money. 

On Tuesday the 24'^. ult. came on the trial of Capt. Samuel Ward of 
Lancaster before the Hon. Superior Court then sitting in this town; he 
was charged with uttering and passing three counterfeit 60^ bills or notes, 
of the State of New Hampshire, knowing them to be counterfeit, and after 
a fair and impartial hearing of the cause, he was acquitted. It clearly ap- 
peared from the testimony of a great number of witnesses, as well on the 
part of the State, as of Capt. Ward, that his misfortune was that of many 
other respectable merchants, who innocently received and paid large quan- 
tities of the same kind of bad money. Two other persons were tried at 
said Court for passing counterfeit paper money and were found guilty. 

[Massachusetts Spy, May 4, 1780.] 

The Council, November 20, 1778, — 

Ordered, that a warrant be drawn on the Treasury for Twenty pounds 
in favor of Ephraim Carter in full of the bounty allowed by the General 
Court for detecting Manasseh Divoll in passing counterfeit money, as ap- 
pears by a certificate signed by Manchester Smith, clerk of the Superior 
Court. 

The clergy, teachers, and others dependent upon sala- 
ries for their means of living, were especial sufferers from 
the depreciation. The first donation party in Lancaster of 
which we have any record is thus described by a corre- 
spondent of the Massachusetts Spy, July 15, 1779: 

A respectable number of ladies in the first parish in Lancaster as- 
sembled at the pastor's and presented him with 208 skeins of linen yarn 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 215 

and other valuable donations ; and in the evening a worthy number of 
gentlemen assembled also and in wool and cash presented to the amount 
of 239 dollars ; all which were gratefully accepted by the said pastor. 

The fluctuation in the regular medium of exchange 
made time contracts difficult, and trade became as much a 
matter of barter as it had been in the earliest days of the 
colony. An example of ingenious avoidance of risk of 
loss from a debased currency is found in the following 
promissory note given to a hired soldier : 

We the subscribers belonging to Bolton in the County of Worcester do 
promise to pay unto John Whitney of Harvard in said County or order in 
consideration of his Engageing into the Continental Service for three years 
for us, Eighteen Calves, Ten whereof are to be Heifers and Eight Steers to 
be Delivered to him within six weeks after his Discharge from the Conti- 
nental Service (provided it be within three years) viz : if he be Discharged 
in one year after Date he is to Receive Said Stock at one year and Six 
weeks old and so for a longer or Shorter time according to the Same Rule. 
N. B. said Stock is to be Six weeks older when he Receives them than the 
time he is in the Service provided it be no longer than three years. Said 
Stock is to be of the midling Size, in witness whereof we have hereunto 
Sett our hands and Seals this Tenth Day of April A. D. 1781. 

A true Coppy of the Obligation Signed by Nathaniel Holman John 
Whitney and Simon Houghton to me on account of my Engageing into the 
Continental Service for three years for a Class in Bolton to which they 
belong. 

[Captain David Nourse's Papers.] 

Each of the sixteen three-years men forming the quota 
of Harvard in the Continental army, under the call of 1781, 
signed a receipt similar to the following : 

Harvard 7, 1781. 

Received of the Committee for Class No. 4 in s"^ Town nine har(l 
Dollars and }2 of ^ Dollar and Twenty-five hundred paper Dollars and an 
obligation for eighteen head of three year old Horned Cattle as encour- 
agement for Inlisting and serving three years in the Continental army. 

Samuel Atherton. 

Through private hoarding and exportation by mer- 
chants, the precious metals soon totally disappeared from 
the ordinary channels of trade. A rapid increase followed 
in the prices of those commodities which wealthy or shrewd 
speculators could so monopolize as to forestall the market. 



2X6 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Thereupon, as is usual at such epoch, plausible financiers, 
patriotic but purblind, re-invented the device of legislating 
that prices should remain fixed, and be forever independent 
of the fickleness of supply and demand, and of the down- 
ward sliding values of a printed legal tender professing no 
certain day of redemption. An interesting list of official 
prices current at the close of the second year of the war, 
is found in the town records beautifully engrossed : 

Regulating Act, 1777. 

The Selectmen & Committee for the town of Lancaster having mett 
agreeable to the order of the General Court, proceeded to sett the price of 
the Necessary & Convenient Articles of Life as Follows, (Viz) : 



Farming Labour in the Summer Season 


June, July 


& August. 


3/pday 






September 




2 


i/2 p day 




October & November. 




i/io Do 


December 


January & 


February. 


1/6 Do 




March & April. 


- 




i/io Do 






May. 






2/2 Do 


Wheat good marchantable. 






@ 


6/8 


p bushel 


Rye marchantable. 






@ 


4/6 


Do 


Indian Corn good Do. 






@ 


3/ 


Do 


Sheeps' wool Do. 






@ 


2/ 


p pound 


Poork fresh, well fatted. 






@ 


4<i 


p Do 


Ditto. Salt without bone. 






@ 


8\ 


Do 


Beef grass fed. 






@ 


2>^d 


Do 


Ditto stall Do. 






@ 


3X 


Do 


Raw Hides. 






@ 


3^ 


Do 


Calve Skins. 






@ 


61 


Do 


Salt according to Court Act 






@ 


10/ 


p bushel 


Rum Sugar Molasses Chocolate and Coffee according to Court Act 


Cheese good new milk 






@ 


61 


p pound 


Butter by the single pound 








gd 


Do 


Peas good & Clean 






@ 


6/8 


p bushel 


Beans 






@ 


5/4 


Do 


Potatoes in Winter & Spring 






@ 


1/6 


Do 


at all other seasons in 


proporti 


on 








Good stokings, men's yarn 






@ 


6/ a 


pair 


Shoes according to Court Act 






@ 


8/ 


Do 



Pork & beef salt, by the barral as directed by Court Act 

Cotton & Oates see Court Act 

Shoes for women ware, either Cloth or Leather @ 5/8 a pair 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 217 

Flax good, well dressed @ i / P pound 

Tow Cloth good yard wide @ 2/3 p yard 

Flannel good yard wide @ 3/6 Do 

And all other wedths &c in proportion 

Good yard wide all wool Cloth striped or Checked @ 3/ pr yard 

And all other wedths in proportion 

Good blue wool Cloth well fulled and Dressed ^ yard wide @ 9/ pr yard 

and all other fulled cloth in proportion 

Wood good & Green delivered at the buyer's Door eight 

feet Long @ 6/ pr Cord 

Good Charcoal delivered at the Shop Door @ 3/^**. pr bushel 

Tanned Hides @ 1/3 pr pound 

Curried Leather in usual proportion 
Cotton Cloth according to Court Act. 

Mutton & Veal @ 3^ pr pound 

Lamb under six months' old @ 2^ pr pound 

Wheat Flour manufactured in this state @ 20/ pr hundred 

Imported Flour according to Court Act 

Milk in 1 he Winter 2'^ pr Quart 

Horse Keeping for a Night or for 24 hours with English hay 1/2 
& for a yoak of Oxen same manner as the Horse @ 1/4 

Teaming Work 1/6 for every ton Weight a mile 

Milk in Summer Spring & fall @ ^^ Quart 

English Hay of the best Quality in the winter and spring @ 3/ p hundred 
and in Hay time &c @ 2/ Do 

all other hay in proportion 

Good merchantable white pine boards fitt for Inclosing @ 29/ a thousand 
Pitch pine for Do 26/8 Do. & other boards of Superior Kind in proportion 
Shoeing a horse round steeling 6/4 

Shoeing one yoke of Oxen steel &c 11/ 

Good narrow ax well steeled 10/6 

and all other smithing in proportion 

Carpenters', House Joiners' & Masons' each of them 3/4 P day 

To keeping & boarding, a man 7 days finding washing & Lodging 6/ 
Dinner roast & boiled i/, & all other meals in proportion- 
Lodging one Night 3^^ 
Flip made of New England rum. Half a pint of rum in a mugg 9'^ a mugg 
Flip made of West India rum 1/ a "lugg 
To Cutting out a man's Coat lo"* 
To Do. Jackett & briches 5* 
Making a man's Coat Lined & full trimmed 8/ 
Making a man's Jackett with sleeves 3/6 
Making Do cloth breeches 4/ 
Making Do Buckskin Do 6/ 
& all other Tayloring in proportion 
15 



2l8 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



To one good Desk maid of Cherrytree 3^ 10/ 

To one Case of Draws 4£ 

Common Colour"! Chairs 3/4 a piece 

One four feet Table i^ 4/ 

& all other Shop Joinery in proportion 

Spinning yarn warp wool 2}4^ a skain 

Spinning filling for Ditto 2'^ 

Spinning Linnen 5 skain yarn 14 Knotts @ 4^ p skain 

and all other spinning in proportion 

To weaving wool or yard wide Linning 4*1 a yard 

and all other weaving in proportion 

To making men's shoes at their shop 3/ 

To Do Women's Do 2/8 p pair 

To Specking shoes for men finding all 2/ 

To Do Women's Do i /4 a pair 

and all other making and mending in proportion 

Bricks well burnt Common Size i3/4 Thousand 

Barral staves best kind 25/ a Thousand 

and all other Cooper Staves in proportion 

To a heart barral 3/4. sap Do 2/8 other coopering in proportion 



i£ 6^ 81 

2£ 10/ 
6/ 



To making a pair of Cart Wheeles 

For a good seed plough 6/. & other ploughs in Proportion 

To a good Fire arm Compleat with bayonet 

and all other Gun Smithing in proportion 

A Good well made Man's Sadie 

A Good bridle with Common bitts 

and all other Saddler's work in proportion 

Iron hollow ware @ 3*! p pound 

Hard ware and all other Cast Iron Ware in proport°° 

Good old Cyder 8/ p barral 

To a yoke of Oxen one day in Summer 1/6 

To a Draft Horse one day in Summer 1/ 

and both in proportion in other seasons of the year 

Hemp well Dressed 8'^ p pound 

Sawing pine boards & Chesnutt 10/ a thousand 

Do. Oake 11/ Do 

and all other sawing in proportion 

Flax seed fitt for oil mill 3/6 p bushell 

Flax seed fitt for sowing 5/ p bushell 

Good barly malt 3/6 p bushell 

Good Rye Do. 4/6 Do 

Grammer School Master ^2.. 8/ a month 

Good pair boots made of neat's Leather i£ 6.. 8 

Good Wool Hatt 8/ 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 219 

Good tryed tallow 7 i^d p pound 

Rough tallow 3'i Do 

Riding Horse 2"^ p mile 

A Woman to spin by the week 3/ 

Doctor's fees. Vomitt i/. purge i/. to a miles travel 8'>. pull- 
ing tooth 8<i. a Visit S"^. and all other Doctring in proportion 
Good oake or pine plank three Inch thick 4£ a thousand 

A true Coppy signed by Joseph Kilburn, Daniel Robbins, Joel Hough- 
ton, Samuel Thurston, Jonathan Wilder, Ebenezer Allen, W" Dunsmoor, 
Cyrus Fairbank, Joshua Fletcher, Josiah Kendall, Jun"". and Jabez Fair- 
bank, Selectmen and Committee. 

For the town of Lancaster- Lancaster, Feby 28"'. 1777. 

Examined and Entered by me. 

Wm Greenleaf, Town Clerk. 

The attempt to fix immutably the value of a promise-to- 
pay based upon no security but hopes of future prosperity, 
met the fate historic of such financial schemes. Now and 
then the scale of prices had to be re-adjusted. May 17, 
1779, the town voted to choose " four persons as Inspectors 
of the markett," and David Osgood, William Dunsmoor, 
Esq., Nathaniel Beaman and Captain William Putnam 
were elected. June 28, the town in solemn conclave, — 

11. Voted that the price of the comodityes of the farmer and any 
other article do Not Rise any hier than at this time. 

12. Voted to Chuse a Committee to assertain the prices of every 
article of Life 

14 Voted and Chosen Nathaniel Balch, W"^ Dunsmoor Esq, Josiah 
Wilder Esq, Nath. Beaman, Capt. W'". Putnam, Joel Houghton, Aaron 
Sawyer and Thomas Brown as the above Committee. 

Lancaster, July 12, 1779 

9 Voted and Chosen Joseph Reed Esq. and Mr Ebenezer Allen to 
attend at Concord the 14. Instant as deligates to set in a State Conven- 
tion 

Lancaster August 2 1779 

2 Voted and accepted the proceedings of the Convention lately held 
at Concord 

5 Voted that Joseph Reed Esq. and Ebenezer Allen be the Gentlemen 
to attend upon the Convention to be holden at Worcester the second Tues- 
day of August. 



220 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Colonel Joseph Reed was chairman of this convention 
at Worcester, August 3, 1779, which met — 

for the purpose of carrying into effect the several interesting and impor- 
tant measures first recommended by Congress to the inhabitants of the 
United States, and since to the inhabitants of this State by a Convention 
of their Delegates at Concord on the 14''^ ult. 

The convention adjourned to August 11, when thirty- 
towns of the county were represented, and several resolves 
were passed, the chief being to fix the prices at which 
merchandise and country produce should be sold. 

Lancaster August 16, 1779 

1. Voted and accepted the proceedings of the Late County Conven- 
tion held at Worcester. 

2. Voted that the proceedings of the above Convention be posted at 
Phelps', Sawyer's Mills, Thomas Gates', Pope's, Elisha White's and 
Josiah Kendall's taverns. 

3. Voted to Chuse a Committee to Regulate prices within the town 
and see the Proceedings of the late County Convention held at Worcester 
be carried into execution. 

4. Voted to make an addition of ten persons to the standing Com- 
mittee. 

5. Voted and Choose Josiah Wilder, Samuel Thurston, Thomas 
Gates, Peter Larkin, Thomas Brooks, Nathaniel Balch, Jabez Brooks, 
Stephen Holman, Samuel Wilder Jr. and John Brown to be added to the 
standing Committee for the above purpose. 

On the first of September the convention for forming 
the constitution of the state met at Cambridge, wherein 
Lancaster was represented by William Dunsmoor, Esq , 
Captain Ephraim Wilder and Captain William Putnam. 
On the first Wednesday in October another convention met 
at Concord to revise the price list again, and Lancaster 
sent the same delegates as before. 

Lancaster Nov^ 8^'^ 1779 

I Voted and accepted the proceedings of the late Convention at Con- 
cord. 

2'y. Voted to Chuse a Committee to see the Regulations of the Con- 
vention Comply<^ with within this town .... 

4iy Voted and Choose Uea. Cyrus Fairbank, Capt. Nathaniel Balch, 
Ebenezer Allen, Capt. Jonathan Wilder, John Prescott, Capt. Benj*. Rich- 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 221 

ardson, Joseph Reed Esq, Capt. David Osgood, and Dea. Levi Moor as 
above Committee. 

5'y Voted to Chuse a Committee to state the prices within the town 
that have Not been stated by Convention .... 

7'y Voted and Choose Dea. Benjamin Houghton Jabez Brooks, Sam- 
uel Thurston Nathaniel White and Josiah Kendall Jun. as the above 
Committee. 

Lancaster March 6, 1780 

Voted that the price of Men's Labour be 6 pounds pr Day till ye first 
of August, Horses Oxen and Utensils to be in Proportion. 

The tenth article in a warrant summoning a town-meet- 
ing for February 16, 1781, was : 

To see if the Town will enquire for y" Reasons why ye new Emission 
Currency is sunk almost one half of the Value of what it was when first 
Emitted, and to show their Minds respecting paying the hard Money Tax, 
or act or transact any thing Relative thereto ; agreable to y^ Request of 
Caleb Whitney and others. 

No action was taken upon this by the town, but at the 
March meeting it was voted to raise fifteen thousand pounds 
"old emission," for the year's appropriation to roads and 
bridges ; and the pay of workmen upon the highways was 
fixed at twelve pounds per day till the first of September. 
The next town-meeting raised this to fifteen pounds per day. 
After this date the town estimates and appropriations are 
no longer reckoned in the values of paper currency, and 
September 3 the town voted — 

that the Constables and Collectors be directed not to Receive 

the Old Continental money for taxes untill further orders, — town or Pre- 
cinct; — [for] which the town agree to endemnify said Constables and 
Collectors. 

Perhaps nothing can better illustrate the ubiquity of the 
tax collector, and the depreciation in " fiat " values, than 
the annual summaries of the assessors : 

An Accompt of the Moneys assessed on the Town of Lancaster by the 
Assessors of sd. Town for the year 1779 viz : 

May 14 Assessed a Continental State Tax of ;^76o4..ii.. 4 

June 18 Assessed a Town Tax of 5800.. 0.. o 

" Also a Highway Tax of 1200.. o.. o 



222 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



August 27 Assessed a Continental Tax of 


£22219. .11.. 3 


" 


A Town Tax of 


11176.. 3.. 


" 


A County Tax of 


178. .12. .10 


Feb. 3 


Assessed a State Tax of 


19991..13.. 4 


<( 


A Town Tax of 


6381.. c. 


<( 


A County Tax of 


296.. 2. .11 






£74847.. 1 4.. 8 


An 


Accompt of the Moneys assessed on the Town . 


. . 1780. 


Feby 10 


a Town Rate of 


^165000.. CO 


" 22 


a County Rate of 


888.. 2..0 


(1 <> 


a State Rate of 


43607.. 6.. 8 


Sept. 30 


a State Rate (silver) 


570.. 0..0 




a Town Rate (Highway) 


5000.. 0..0 


Nov. 4 


a Town Rate (New Emission) 


750.. 0..0 


Dec. 4 


a State Rate 


44333.. 6..8 




a County Rate 


2073.. I. .7 


Feby. 5 


a Town Rate (New Emission) 


1500.. 0..0 




a Town Rate do. 


6562. . 10. .0 



The credit of the continental currency had, during 1779, 
reached so low an ebb that the army commissaries could 
not purchase sufficient food for the soldiers, and Congress 
invented the expedient of requiring each state to supply its 
proportionate share. Therefore in the warrant for a town- 
meeting, October 24, 1780, appears this article : 

2. To see what method the Town will come into respecting ye Reso- 
lution of the General Court, concerning the raising by a Tax or otherwise 
a Quantity of Beef, or act or transact any thing relative to s'^ Resolution. 

The town chose to purchase the beef, and elected as 
purchasing committee, Captain David Osgood, Captain 
Ephraim Carter and Nathaniel Houghton ; raising seven 
hundred and fifty pounds for the purpose. David Osgood 
became the commonwealth's agent. 

Lancaster November 14. 1780. 

Received of the Town of Lancaster by the Hands of Nathaniel 
Houghton and Ephraim Carter, Jun"". Nineteen Thousand w' of Beef, being 
the whole of what was sett in the Schedule by ye great and general Court. 

David Osgood, Agent. 
. . . Second Day of January A. D. 1781 . . . 

2'1'y. Voted to raise the Town's Proportion of Beef sent for by the 
General Court. 

3'"y. Voted & Chose Capt. David Osgood, Joseph Carter, Nathaniel 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 223 

Houghton, Capt Solomon Jevvett and Capt Ephraim Carter for a Commit- 
tee to purchase s'' Beef. 

4^y. Voted to raise the Sum of Fifteen Hundred Pounds in ye New 
Emission to purchase said Beef. 
Lancaster January, 1781. 

Received of this Town by the Hands of the Committee thirty-six 
Thousand 4 Hundred and 94 w' of Beef being their full Quota as order*! 
by ye General Court Decb''. 4, 1780. 

David Osgood Agent 
Lancaster July 13, 1781 . . . .• 

3. Voted to Comply with the General Court's orders Respecting beef 
for the army. 

4. Voted to Chuse a Committee for purchasing beef as above. . . . 

6. Voted and Choose Thomas Gates and Daniel Ruggas a Committee. 

7. Voted to Raise two hundred pounds for procuring the above beef. 

In matters of dress, which had greatly deviated from 
Puritanic simplicity, in the larger towns at least, a rigid 
economy became generally compulsory from scarcity of the 
materials as well as their cost. Silas Rice, however, con- 
tinued to advertise in the Spy that he made and sold "silver 
shoe and knee-buckles at his shop near the second parish 
meeting-house." The census shows that every farmer 
kept his little flock of sheep, there being nearly four thou- 
sand in the town. The cultivation of hemp and flax was 
everywhere urged as a patriotic duty. By every fire-side 
the spinning-wheels busily hummed, twirled by the hands 
of the young, and the knitting needles constantly clicked 
in the deft fingers of the aged. Ephraim Carter in his 
tannery, Peter Thurston in his hat shop, Micah Harthan in 
his fulling mill, Thomas Grant with his loom, and many 
skilled and strong-handed helpers wrought at their crafts 
industriously. Yet the soldiers often went half clad, and 
among the bare-footed men whose steps stained with blood 
the snows of Valley Forge, were several of Lancaster and 
vicinity. When the knowledge of their pressing need 
came home to their neighbors, the town-meeting waited for 
no formality of requisition, but, February 5, 1778, — 

4'"y. Voted, that the Selectmen and Committee estimate the Cloath- 
ing Collected for the Soldiers and to be made a town charge with the 
transporting. 



224 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

jtiiiy Voted, that the above Cloathing be sent to the Continental 
Soldiers in the Service for three years Belonging to this town. 

gtiiiy^ Voted, that the Selectmen and Committee Provide a man or 
men to transport the above Cloathing to the Soldiers. 

Joshua Houghton served the town as express messenger, 
and was in due time paid i3£. 13'. 10'' for such service. 
At a town-meeting May 18, 1778 : 

. . . gt'^^y. Voted to allow the Selectmen seven pound fifteen shillings 
for Clothing they Found for the Solgers that Flead out of York in year 
1776. 

Massachusetts, from the beginning of the conflict, had 
adopted the policy of requiring each town to furnish its 
proportion of the clothing demanded for the soldiery, its 
quota being determined not by the number of men it had 
sent, but by its financial ability. In i775? Lancaster was 
required to supply one hundred and sixteen coats. During 
the siege of Boston she was called upon for thirty-three 
blankets. In February, 1777, a requisition for clothing 
was made, based upon one-seventh of the male population 
above sixteen years of age. The following undated bill 
probably indicates the call made upon Lancaster : 

State of Massachusetts Dr. to the Selectmen of Lancaster, 
for sixty-four Summer Shirts at 40/, thirty-one Woolen Ditto 
at 50/ 

ninty-six pairs of Stockings 

ninty.six pairs of Shoes 

By or. of Selectmen 





£207 - IO» 
125- 16 
186- 8 


Ebenezer Allen 
Joshua Fletcher, 
William Putnam, 


521-14 

Selectf/ieti 
' of 


Levi Moore 


Lancaster 



Israel Moore, J 
[Mass. Archives, Muster Rolls, XLi, 192.] 

The assessment of clothing for the army in 1780, was : 
Lancaster 40 pairs of Shoes, 41 Shirts, 26 pairs of Hose, 17 Blankets. 
Bolton 18 do. 15 do. 20 do. o 

Harvard 28 do. 10 do. 27 do. o 

Leominster 22 do. 22 do 22 do. 11 

[Massachusetts Archives, CXL, 272-4.] 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 225 

In 1781, Lancaster was required to supply sixty of each 
of the same articles of clothing. 

Imported sweets, spices, and many articles of diet now 
thought necessities of daily domestic use, became so costly 
that every housekeeper was exercised in discovering sub- 
stitutes for them among home products. Corn-stalks were 
ground, and the expressed juice boiled down to make mo- 
lasses ; the maple yielded sugar and the bees their more 
luscious manufacture. The cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger 
of the tropics were no longer to be had, and sassafras bark, 
caraway and coriander ill supplied the want of them. Salt 
often became scarce, and for that there was no equivalent. 
Tea had been in use in Massachusetts for over fifty years. 
The taste for it had become a passion with many, and man- 
ifold were the attempts to find in some infusion of native 
herbs all the cheering fragrance of the Chinese leaf. In 
1768 the patriots generally resolved to abjure the use of 
foreign tea, and its buyers and sellers were equally pro- 
scribed. Nevertheless considerable quantities were secretly 
used, and the attempt to substitute for it the Labrador tea, 
ledum latifoltum, met little favor with the female portion 
of the community, and royalists. But soon even the pos- 
session of the imported luxury was a crime against country. 
The ladies of this vicinity were however congratulated by 
no less an authority than the Massachusetts Spy, upon the 
discovery that their favorite beverage was easily attainable 
without sin. 

. . . . It is with pleasure we can inform such of the fair sex, who are 
attached to Bohea Tea, that a shrub, supposed by many to be the same 
that produces the tea we have from the East Indies, grows in this town. 
Large quantities have been cured, and it is scarce known by smell or taste 
from the real Bohea. [September 6. 1775] 

This much vaunted shrub, — ccanotkus Aniericanus, — 

continues to bear its revolutionary name, "Jersey tea ;" but 

its virtues are purely historic. Another substitute for the 

bohea that had grown so politically poisonous, one quite 

popular among patriotic New England women, was "hype- 



226 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

rion," a beverage made of the dried leaves of the raspberry. 
In more southern latitudes the same purpose was served by 
the flowers of the sassafras and the foliage of the yupon, — 
ilex glabra, — a shrub akin to that which furnishes the 
Paraguayan yci'va or mat^. Even garden herbs and mints 
were regularly utilized to appease the craving for the im- 
ported stimulant. Coffee was far more satisfactorily re- 
placed by various home-made preparations. 

From a series of probate inventories filed in colonial 
days can be got very suggestive pictures of the indigence 
or ascetic frugality of the pioneers, the slow accretion of 
household comforts, and the gradual changes in dress, 
social habits and domestic life. In the times specially un- 
der consideration we no longer find such items as the fol- 
lowing, taken from some of the earliest property schedules 
of Lancaster's deceased yeoman : "the bedstead in the 
parlour" — "ancker of strong waters in cellar" — "a pair of 
querns" — "a posnet" — "a dozen trenchers" — "one dozen 
alcomy spoons" — "a satinisco and a red taminy petticoat" 
"a green say apron" — "a red serge hood" — "a fire slice'' 
"matchlock"— "halbert"—" joint stools"— "a tumbril"— 
"thatching tools." In testamentary disposition of estates, 
"the great bible" or "one silver spoon" is not so frequently 
the sole bequest to a favorite daughter, and the eldest son 
no longer receives a double portion as his birth-right. But 
we continue to note a stinted supply and scant variety in 
the utensils of domestic economy, even among families 
esteemed well-to-do ; and always find sundry chattels, the 
names or utility of which have long become unfamiliar, 
such as the following : spinning-wheels, brake, swingle, 
hetchel, wool-cards, loom, fire-steel and tinder box, cob- 
irons, basting ladle, fire-fork, cottrel, trammels, pot-hooks, 
peel, brander, trivet, iron and brass skillets, locker, settle, 
flock-bed, warming-pan, cheese-vat, brewing tub, malt- 
mill, powdering tub, piggin, noggin, keeler, rundlet, por- 
ringer, pewter platters, tankards, buckskin breeches, serge 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 227 

gowns and waistcoats, linsey-woolsey petticoats, pillion, 
pannel, saddle-bags, froe. Hoops and furbelows, safFron- 
hued lace, cocked hats, high-heeled satin shoes, ruffles and 
powdered perukes, we know there were from traditions that 
come down to us, but about them Lancaster administrators 
are silent. 

In 1676, when savage hordes swept down from Wachu- 
set, and with fire and tomahawk drove the settlers from the 
Nashua valley to seek shelter in the bay towns, several of 
the homeless pioneers found hospitable doors open to them 
in Boston and Charlestown. Nearly one hundred years 
had elapsed and five thousand poor people of Boston, flee- 
ing from the insults of British soldiery and the sufferings 
incident to siege, were asking refuge and food. Thus 
Lancaster had her opportunity to repay tenfold what she 
had received. Of five hundred and thirty-nine poor of 
Boston assigned by the Provincial Congress to the charity 
of Worcester county, it was Lancaster's lot to provide for 
one hundred and three. Bolton was expected to care for 
forty-eight. Harvard fifty, and Leominster thirty-eight. 
To the quota of Lancaster were added thirty Charlestown 
exiles. The actual number who finally sought refuge here 
can never be known, for all attempts at a systematic distri- 
bution of the needy naturally failed in the confusion of the 
time. No lists of the names of the beneficiaries, and but 
few references to them are found. Some became sufficiently 
attached to their rural asylum to remain permanent resi- 
dents. Among these was a lame youth of fifteen years, 
the grand-nephew of Benjamin Franklin. This was Josiah 
Flagg, whose plain handwriting adorned the records of 
Lancaster for thirty-four years, 1800-1836. His father, 
William Flagg, remaining in the beleaguered city to pro- 
tect his personal effects, succumbed to hardship and dis- 
ease, leaving his crippled son dependent upon others. 
When past the allotted age of man, 'Squire Flagg, as the 
veteran town-clerk was generally called, was wont to tell 



228 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

of the hardships he endured as a boy in revolutionary days, 
and to show with honest pride the following testimonial : 

This is to certify whom it may concern that Josiah Flagg has hired 
with me near Five Months, being employed as a Clerk and Accountant, 
and has behav'd in his Employment with great Ability, Diligence and 
Fidelity, so as to give me perfect Satisfaction. 

This Testimony is given unask'd. Philadelphia Sept. 4, 1786 

B. Franklin. 

The schoolmaster of Charlestown, William Harris, flee- 
ing on foot with his family of little ones to escape the 
devastating storm of flame in which his humble home was 
soon after swept away, by chance found friends and a refuge 
here. He became paymaster in the regiment of Colonel 
David Henley, died of fever Oct. 30, 1778, and was buried 
with military honors in the Second Precinct cemetery. The 
eldest of his children, a boy often when orphaned, through 
years of struggling with penury, rose to distinction — 
Thaddeus Mason Harris, S. T. D., A. A. S., etc. 

John Newman, a "clock and watch maker," set up his 
shop near the store of Captain Samuel Ward, and there 
his descendants of two generations made steel tools of so 
excellent workmanship that they were sought for in all the 
country around. 

The following documents tell of a family brought hither 
for temporary residence : 

Massachusetts Bay to Oliver Pollard Dr. 

1775 July 17 bringing Richard Cartwright and family 7 persons to Lan- 
caster as per certificate 2-3-0 

Lancaster Sept. 11 1775 
Then Rec"^ by the hand of David Moor Rebeccah Cartwright & a 
Grandchild of hers 7 years old who was not expressed in the stificat. 
This family was brought from Maiden 42 miles. N. B. said Moor pad 
iV4 for expence for said Cartwright. 



Cyrus Fairbank 
Samll. Thurston 
Ebenezer Allen 
David Osgood 



The 
Select 
men 

of 
Lajicaster 



The Boston refugees who came "to share the homely 
banquet of peace" in the Nashua valley, were not all crafts- 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 229 

men, nor of the impoverished class. Daniel Waldo bought 
and occupied a farm upon the easterly side of the Neck, 
and thither came the future lieutenant-governor, Levi Lin- 
coln, to woo and wed Martha Waldo. Edmund Quincy, 
Esq., another Boston merchant, one of whose daughters 
was the wife of Governor John Hancock, came to reside 
with a second daughter who had married Sheriff William 
Greenleaf. Edmund Quincy's letter book, now the property 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society, contains copies of 
sundry epistles to Governor Hancock and other noted patri- 
ots, dated at Lancaster, in which he ably discusses the 
gravest questions of state. Unfortunately there is little of 
local color in these letters ^^ a-piid sylvas Lancastrienscsy 
One he begins thus : "Among y'' exiles of Boston I am 
here about forty miles from that formerly happy seaport, 
now a strong fortress held under direful circumstances by 
ye enemies of Great Britain and America." He often men- 
tions the great scarcity of wool, and urges the encourage- 
ment of hemp culture, to supply a substitute. He pictures 
the " Wonderful Flow of people into Cambridge and its 
vicinage, for ye purpose of Common Curiosity," during the 
weary months of siege. March 18, 1776, a rumor reached 
Lancaster that Abel Willard, Esq., had been killed in Bos- 
ton by a cannon ball from the patriot batteries, and Quincy 
writes : "If ye news prove true I shall pity ye relict widow 
for whom Dolly and her sister K. have a good value, and 
who manifested much reluctance at going to Boston." 

A sojourner even more noted at the time, made his home 
in a house which stood in rear of the site now occupied by 
Mrs. Elizabeth Frances Dix ; one who, from his intimate 
social relations with the first president of the Provincial and 
Continental Congresses, had much influence with his 
ardent whig neighbors, and, it is said, ever swayed them 
towards justice and humanity ; often moderating the patriot 
rage towards those suspected of lukewarmness or toryism. 
Nathaniel Balch had a shop on the west side of Washing- 



230 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

ton, near and north of School street, in Boston, where he 
retailed hats, and original witticisms, which won him more 
than urban renown. He became so marked a favorite with, 
and so inseparable a companion to Governor Hancock, that 
his rival town wits fastened upon him the title of " the Gov- 
ernor's Jester." His name is prominent in the war com- 
mittees of Lancaster in 1776. 

In spite of the public anxiety and private distress, the 
arts were not banished, nor did the graces languish from 
neglect, on the Nashua. 

THE French Gentleman who taught DANCING and the FRENCH 
LANGUAGE grammatically, in Worcester the last Winter and in Lan- 
caster the Spring ensuing, begs leave to inform the Publick that he has 
again opened a SCHOOL in LANCASTER, near the Meeting-House for 
the same purpose : Where he will pay the greatest attention to every Lady 
or Gentleman who will honour him with his or her presence. 

[Massachusetts Spy, Thursday, November 15, 1781.] 

Hasty inference drawn from a comparison of the often 
illiterate manuscript of the town's officials during the revo- 
lution with that of the pioneers in Lancaster, might lead to 
the assumption that there had been a decadence in popular 
education. The enforced costly sacrifice of material inter- 
ests during long years of warfare prevented generous 
expenditure for public schools, but the old custom was con- 
tinued of annually hiring some college graduate to preside 
over the grammar school, usually for two terms. Among 
the more noted of those thus employed were : Joseph War- 
ren the patriot, who taught in 1759 and 1760, and Joseph 
Willard, later to become president of Harvard College, 
who was a teacher here in 1762. After 1767 the orders for 
"schooling" were issued in favor of various townsmen act- 
ing as "prudential men" for the several squadrons into 
which the town was divided — the town treasurer no longer 
paying the teachers directly, and their names being there- 
fore seldom found in town records. The names of "school 
dames " first appear in these records about the close of the 
revolution. 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 231 

The two ministers of Lancaster were ripe classical 
scholars, and were wont to eke out their scant stipends by 
receiving students preparing for college. At least ten Lan- 
caster boys, under their tuition probably, sought matricula- 
tion at Harvard during the twenty years next preceding 
1785, and a Lancaster graduate, Samuel Locke, was pres- 
ident of that institution during four years, 1770-1773. The 
two resident lawyers of the revolutionary period, Abel 
Willard and John Sprague, were men of collegiate educa- 
tion, as were also two of the several physicians of the town, 
Israel Atherton and Josiah Wilder. 

Books were too costly to be abundant, but inventories of 
the period prove that every family possessed a few, mostly 
of a religious character. Of the working libraries of pro- 
fessional men we possess no full catalogue. The books of 
Reverend John Prentice were, at his death in 1748, ap- 
praised worth 53£ 8'. 3''. After this collection was scat- 
tered, there was perhaps none rivalling it until the founding 
of the Lancaster Library by an association of citizens in 
1790. Reverend Timothy Harrington's books, as listed in 
the inventory of his estate, 1795, were as follows : 

McKnight's Harmony of the Four Gospels — Doddridge's Family Ex- 
positor in six volumes — Doddridge's Lectures — Bailey's Dictionary — 
Ball's Power of Godliness — Watts' Sermons — Bennet's Christian Oratory 

— Gordon's Geography — Latin and Hebrew Psalms, two volumes — 
Trumbull's Moral Philosophy — Grove's Lord's Supper — Prideaux's Con- 
nection of the History of the Old and New Testaments, four volumes — 
Annerson's Remonstrance — Calvin's Institutes of Religion — Kennett's 
Roman Antiquities — Bion's Works — Cicero's Orations — Trail's Sermons 

— Homer's Iliad — Simplicius's Commentary — Fuller's Worthies of Eng- 
land — Region of Parnassus — Theological Works in Latin, two volumes 

— Cruden's Concordance — Confessions of Faith and Moral Essays — 
Horace — Salmon's English Nobility — Euclid's Elements — Dialogues on 
Eloquence — Gulliver's Memoirs — Juvenal — Parable of Ten Virgins — 
Dr. Mayhew's Sermons — Dr. Whitby's Natural Religion — Trap's Trinity 

— Chauncy's State of Religion — Latin Bible — Latin Grammar — Greek 
and Latin Testament — Prince's Chronology of New England — Flavel's 
Works — Scott's Christian Life — Willard's Body of Divinity — History of 
Church of Scotland — Perkins's Works — Lord Chesterfield's Exposition 

— Pole's Synopsis, Latin, five volumes. 



232 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Doctor William Dunsmoor, a man of marked ability, 
the most prominent of Lancaster's patriots in 1775, had 
inherited his father's "hats and wiggs, and one Bible, and 
all his Physicall Books and Chirurgical Instruments." At 
his decease in 1784, the following volumes composed his 
little library : 

A large Folio Bible with cuts — Henry Moore against Deism — Robert 
Morse's Sermons, five volumes — Burns's Justice, abridged — Bailey's 
Dictionary — Perry's Theatre of Physic, two volumes — Huxam's Essay 
on Fevers — Brown's Art of Physic — Allen's Synopsis Medicinae — Shaw's 
Practice of Physic — Salmon's Practical Physic — The Marrow of Surgery 
— John Dayreel in Vindication of the Church — Snake in the Grass, three 
volumes — Tate and Brady's Psalms — A Bundle of Magazines and Pamph- 
lets — Yorrick's Sermon's, two volumes — Humphrey Clinker, three vol- 
umes — The Devil on Two Sticks — Mrs. Chapone's Letters. 

From time to time various paroled prisoners were quar- 
tered in and about Lancaster, occasional glimpses of whose 
impatience under restraint and consequent collision with 
local authority have come down to us. An incident which 
doubtless caused some stir for the day, was the passing 
through the town of a company of prisoners, as narrated 
in a journal kept by James Stevens of Andover, a soldier 
in the detachment of thirty-three men under Captain Joseph 
Baker, Jr., sent from Cambridge in charge of those cap- 
tured July 31, 1775, during an attack upon Light House 
Island : 

Tuesday Au^tst i ; this morning there was thirty-for prisnors a going 
to Woster, twenty-two regelers and twelve tories, we started for Woster a 
bout noon. We went to Concord and staid all night, we put the prisnors 
into jail, we got our super and sot sentry. 

Wensday 2^\ this morning we got a dram & set of; we marcht about 
ten mile and then went to brekfast to won Gilbards in little town, we 
marcht to Lanchester and staid al night, the town's people stod sentry 
over them. 

Thursday 3'' ; this morning we got a dram & set of, we marcht to 
Shusbury and there went to brekfast, & we started and went to Woster, 
we marcht through the town, the tories with there hats under there arms, 
and we returned them to the prison, the tories went in to the dungeon, we 
got some vitls and then sot of for home, we went to Shusbury we staid al 
night. 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 233 

Friday, this morning we got our brekfast and started and through 
Lanchester and then went to little town & staid al night 

June 17, 1776, the transports Anabella, Lord Howe and 
George, seven weeks from Glasgow, were captured in 
Nantasket Roads, having entered the harbor in ignorance 
that the blockade of Boston had been raised. Upon these 
vessels were two battalions of the Seventy-first Highlanders 
under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Camp- 
bell. After brief confinement in the Worcester jail, five 
Highland officers — Captain Lawrence Robert Campbell, 
Lieutenant Archie McLean and Lewis Colquhon, with vol- 
unteers Duncan Campbell and James Flint, were sent to 
Lunenburg on their parole not to go outside the limit of six 
miles from the residence assigned for their use. Each was 
allowed a Highland soldier as servant, for whose conduct 
he was responsible. If we may judge from the following 
pathetic complaint, these five Highlandmen and their gillies 
not only made Turkey Hills temporarily a very lively place 
indeed, but managed to endanger the safety of the United 
States by their un-Puritanic escapades : 

To the Grate &^ General Court of the State of the Massachusetts Bay. 

The Committee of Inspection &c for the Town of Lunenbarg beg Leave 
to Inform your Honours of the conduct of the prisoners of war Residing in 
this Town & likewise our proceedings had thereon, & in the first place we 
would Inform you that some time since the s"^ prisoners Requested the 
Comm''^^'' that they might Remove from where they ware stationed to the 
House of Capt. Ebenezar Robinsons (who is a profess''. Enemy to his 
country & under confinement) but we Refused to grant their Request, not- 
withstanding which & in contempt of our authority they Did without our 
knowledge Remove themselves and effects to sd. Robinsons but we soon 
Removed them from there to another place, since which they do frequently 
Visit sd. Robinson. Notwithstanding they are forbid so Doing, they fre- 
quently Visit the publick Houses & sometimes to stay very late at night to 
the Disturbance of the Inhabitants. Some of their servants have assalted 
one of our Inhabitants on the evening in the Highway & threatened to 
take away his life ; further one of the officers passing by a number of 
School Boys in the street one of them observing his Dress to be in the 
Highland mode, asked his fellow if he did not think that Highlanders was 
a-cold, the officer hereing the speech Returned to them, threatened their 
16 



234 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Committee 
Inspection 



lives, calling them Dem"^ Bastards, swearing by God if ever he heard them 
say so again he would split their heads to attoms, therefore we think it our 
Duty & for the safty of the United States that some Restraint be laid on 
them, accordingly we have Restricted them to the limmits of twenty Rodes 
from their lodgings untill further order. 

W" Stearns 

Joseph Hartwell 

Benjn Redington 
Lunenburg Jany. 21, 1777. Josiah Stearns 

Daniel Gardner 

In Council Jany 24, 1777. Read & Committed to John Whitcomb & 
John Taylor Esq. to consider the same & report what is proper to be done 
thereon. John Avery Dept. Secy 

The committee advised : 
.... that in case the aforesaid Prisoners Do not observe the orders & 
Direction of said Committy that they be Fourthwith sent by said Committy 
to the Gould in Taunton in the County of Bristol, and committ them to 
the costada of the keeper of said Gould. 

[Massachusetts Archives, CLXXXII, 72.] 

In the adjoining town of Harvard were rusticated two 
gentlemanly Britons, Captain Edward Barron of the King's 
Own, and Surgeon Walter Cullen of the Seventy-second 
Foot or Royal Fencibles. They also got into temporary 
disagreement with their custodians by once wandering be- 
yond the limits assigned them, and were remanded to jail ; 
but petitioning to return to the purer air of their country 
quarters, their request was allowed. 

Of those whose residence in this neighborhood during 
the Revolution was compulsory, the most noteworthy per- 
sonage was an eccentric bachelor tory. There lived in 
South Lancaster, but a stone's throw apart, a sister and a 
daughter of Judge John Chandler, "the honest Refugee" 
of Worcester. They were the wives respectively of Levi 
Willard, Esq., and Captain Samuel Ward. Mr. Willard 
died in the first year of the war, and there came to reside 
with these estimable and accomplished ladies an elder 
brother of Mrs. Ward. He was about thirty-two years of 
age, peculiar in person, habits and dress. Among other 
oddities of apparel, he was partial to bright red small- 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 235 

clothes. His tory principles and singularities called down 
upon him the gibes of the patriots among whom his lot was 
temporarily cast, but his ready tongue and caustic wit were 
sufficient weapons of defence. In 1774, ^^ town-clerk of 
Worcester, he had recorded a protest of forty-three royal- 
ist citizens against the resolutions of the patriot majority. 
This record he was obliged in open town-meeting to deface, 
and when he failed to render it sufficiently illegible with 
the pen, his tormentors dipped his fingers into the ink and 
used them to perfect the obliteration. He fled to Halifax, 
but after a few months returned, and was thrown into Wor- 
cester jail. The reply to his petition for release is preserved 
in Massachusetts Archives, clxiv, 205 : 

Colony of the Massachusetts Bay. By the Major part of the Council 
of said Colony. Whereas Clark Chandler of Worcester has been Confined 
in the Common Prison at Worcester for holding Correspondence with the 
enemies of this Country and the said Clark having humbly petitioned for 
an enlargement and it having been made to appear that his health is greatly 
impaired & that the Publick will not be endangered by his having some 
enlargement, and Samuel Ward, John Sprague, and Ezekiel Hull having 
Given Bond to the Colony Treasurer in the penal sum of one thousand 
Pounds, for the said Clark's faithful performance of the order of Council 
for his said enlargement, the said Clark is hereby permitted to go to Lan- 
caster when his health will permit, and there to continue and not to go out 
of the Limits of that Town, he in all Respects conforming himself to the 
Condition in said Bond contained, and the Sheriff of said County of Wor- 
cester and all others are hereby Directed to permit the said Clark to pass 
unmolested so long as he shall conform himself to the obligations afore- 
mentioned. Given under our Hands at ye Council Chambers in Water- 
town the 15 Day of Dec. Anno Domini 1775. 

By their Honors' Command 

Perez Morton, Dept. Secry. 

The salubrious air of Lancaster in time grew oppressive 
to this loyalist bachelor, as is disclosed in his lengthy peti- 
tion — to be found in Massachusetts Archives, clxxiii, 546 
— wherein he begs for a wider range, and especially for 
leave to visit the sea-shore. The medical certificate of a 
local practitioner accompanies it, and affords confirmation 
of the statement made by the Marquis de Chastellux, that 



236 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

"the physicians in America pay much more attention than 
ours to qualities of the atmosphere, and frequently employ 
change of air as an effectual remedy." 

Lancaster, Oct. 25, 1777. 
This is to inform whom it may Concern that Mr Clark Chandler, 
now residing in this Town, is in such a Peculiar Bodily Indisposition as in 
my opinion renders it necessary for him to take a short Trip to the Salt 
Water in order to assist in recovering his Health. 

JosiAH Wilder Ph^ 

Chandler was permitted to visit Boston, and thereafter 
to wander at will within the bounds of Worcester county. 
He lived at Worcester until his death, in 1804. His "Pecul- 
iar Bodily Indisposition" proved highly infectious, and the 
whole community became so inoculated with it that descend- 
ants of the third and fourth generations periodically migrate 
seaward to test the prescription of Dr. Josiah Wilder. 

Occasionally evidence is found, like that in the following 
advertisement, to prove that the spirit of independence had 
no "color line" in Lancaster : 

Whereas Caesar my negro man has absented himself from me, and is 
employed by several persons, without my consent : This is to caution all 
persons from harbouring or employing said negro, or trusting him on my 
account, from the date hereof. Those who entertain him, may expect to 
be dealt with according to Law. 

Lancaster, May 7, 1781. James Wilder. 

Caesar doubtless had read the Declaration of Rights 
with a clearer understanding than James, and knew that 
all men had been "born free and equal" in Massachusetts 
more than six months before. In September, 1777, the 
selectmen reported thirteen male "Negros" in Lancaster 
above sixteen years of age. Presumably these were mostly 
free, for in the valuation return of 1771, there were record- 
ed but six "Servants for life between fourteen and forty-five 
years of age ;" one each being credited to Doctor William 
Dunsmoor, Captain Hezekiah Gates, Peter Green, Samuel 
Joslin, Josiah Moore, and David Osgood. Free negroes 
and slaves fought at Bunker Hill, and are frequently found 



STATISTICS, AND ^SOCIAL ^ANNALS. 237 

in the rolls of the Provincial troops, although by the letter 
of the militia law excluded from enrolment. In October, 
1775, both the Continental and Provincial councils formally 
forbade the enlistment of the colored race ; but the royal- 
ists were not so scrupulous, and, before the close of the first 
year of contest Washington found it necessary in general 
orders to authorize the employment of negroes in the mili- 
tia service. Thereafter, throughout the continuance of 
hostilities, they are found, north and south, fighting in the 
ranks of both armies. At least fourteen colored men ap- 
pear in the revolutionary rolls, claimed as serving for Lan- 
caster : 

Peter Ayres, Peter [Franklin?] Job Lewis, 

Becky's Boston, Gideon Georges, Edom Loudon, 

Julius Caesar, Charles Henry, Perley Rogers, 

John Carter, Reuben [Kendall?] Charles Stuart, 

Cain Lewis, Topsal Woodard. 

The record of these men will be found on previous 
pages. One, Franklin, died in service ; two, Cain Lewis 
and Stuart, deserted. Edom Loudon was distinctly claimed 
in Captain Daniel Goss's return of February, 1778, among 
Lancaster's continental enlistments. He was a slave owned 
by Daniel Goodridge of Winchendon, who ran away from 
a former master, and, enlisting, fought at Bunker Hill. 
He died a pauper in Winchendon, and became noted as the 
cause of the famous "Massachusetts Slave Case" of 1806- 
7, Winchendon vs. Hatfield. 

Upon the re-establishment in July, 1775, of a postal 
system independent of royal authority, under the direction 
of Benjamin Franklin, the oflice at Cambridge, and later 
that at Worcester, were those most convenient to Lancas- 
ter, and so remained for several years. In the lists of un- 
called-for mail published in the New England Chronicle 
and Massachusetts Spy, letters for her citizens are often 
found advertised as remaining in both these offices. The 
first post-office in Lancaster was established April i, 1795. 
The postage upon letters was five and one-fourth pence for 



238 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

each one-fourth ounce, for distances less than sixty miles ; 
eight pence for distances between sixty and one hundred 
miles, and one shilling for distances over one hundred and 
less than two hundred miles. There were but twenty-eight 
post-offices in the whole country in 1776. The delivery of 
the mail to owners distant from the offices depended much 
upon neighborly courtesy or the news-carriers, who rode 
over their established routes once a week. Silent Wilde, 
or his partner, Isaac Church, started from Boston on Mon- 
days, passing "through Lancaster, Rutland etc. to North- 
ampton, Deerfield etc." In the New England Chronicle 
for "Oct. 19 to Oct. 26, 1775," is this advertisement by 
him : 

SILENT WILDE 
News-carrier to Deerfield &c. 
BEGS Leave to inform his Customers, tliat the Time of his last En- 
gagement ends on the 9*'^ Day of November next, when he earnestly 
hopes for punctual Payment at the usual Places of receiving their Papers. 
He likewise earnestly desires hereby to give publick Notice, that he pro- 
poses, on suitable Encouragement to ride weekly, his usual Road for the 
term of six months next ensuing the said 9"^ Day of November and to 
supply each Subscriber with one of the publick News-Papers at One Dol- 
lar each, provided each Subscriber shall at the beginning of the said six 
Months pay the one Half of said Dollar. He would likewise take this 
Opportunity to call upon those who are in Arrears with him for past servi- 
ces, kindly to Consider that he stands in great Need of what is due to 
him. Shutesbury, October 16, 1775. 

Joshua Thomas was the post rider from Worcester 
through Shrewsbury, Lancaster, etc., to Londonderry, 
during the Revolution, and advertised to take pay for his 
services in produce and paper-rags. There seems to have 
been no public conveyance for travellers between Boston 
or Worcester and Lancaster until some years later, although 
an advertisement in The Boston Gazette, September 20, 
1773, indicates that the enterprise was contemplated : 

To the PUBLIC 
The Concord Stage Coach sets out on Tuesday & Friday Mornings at 
7 O'clock from Common Street near Liberty Tree. The Price 4.S. The 



STATISTICS, AND SOCIAL ANNALS. 239 

Stage to be continued to Lancaster if suitable encouragement. All Favors 
gratefully acknowledged, By their humble Servant. 

Nathaniel Russell. 

In modern days, at any public loss or signal victory 
won, the thrill of sorrow or joy runs through the nation 
almost universally coincident with the event that causes it, 
however far distant. During the war for independence, 
neither bad, nor the best of good news travelled much 
more than fifty miles in twenty-four hours, and rarely was 
it less than five days creeping from New York to Boston. 
It was a fortnight's journey from New York to Virginia, 
but the glad tidings of the capture of Yorktown, however, 
which set the church bells ringing throughout the land be- 
cause of its eloquent promise of national freedom, reached 
Lancaster in about a week, coming by vessel to Newport. 
The festivities consequent were at last reported a month 
after the surrender of Cornwallis. 

Lancaster, November 19, 1781. 
On Thursday morning last, a considerable number of the most respect- 
able inhabitants of this place assembled at the Sun Tavern to celebrate 
the capture of Cornwallis, when after mutual congratulations on this hap- 
py event, the company conducted by William Greenleaf Esq. formed and 
marched in procession through the principal streets of the town preceded 
by an advance guard, field piece, and band of musick with American col- 
ours displayed ; having fired sundry salutes followed with three huzzas, the 
company returned to the Sun, where an elegant dinner was provided for 
them, and such gentlemen from the neighbouring towns as were pleased to 
favour them with their company ; after dinner the following toasts were 
drank each being followed by a discharge of a field piece with three cheers. 



Thirteen patriotic toasts then succeed, but are of no es- 
pecial interest now ; the last was the following snarl of 
metaphors : 

May peace, liberty and uninterrupted commerce, break the jaws of 
tyranny, and be wafted by the Gods through the realms of Neptune to the 
welcome shores of the new world. 

In the evening. Mason's Hall was beautifully illuminated; the greatest 
harmony, concord, sociability and good friendship were preserved through 
the whole and crowned the festal day and evening. 

[Massachusetts Spy, Nov. 22, 1781.] 



240 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

With what the festive libations were poured we are not 
told, but neither the Sun Tavern nor "the most respectable 
inhabitants" were noted for thin potations on occasions 
like this. 

This jubilation of the people over the victory that pres- 
aged honorable peace near at hand, was the tirst of many 
recorded. The date of the annual festal commemoration 
soon, however, became that of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. But at intervals the militia companies of the 
region around were wont to organize a celebration of the 
surrender of Yorktown ; when a motley army of spectators 
gathered from far and near, regaled themselves with un- 
limited gingerbread, spruce beer or more exciting bev- 
erages, derived amusement from the evolutions of gro- 
tesquely caparisoned troops in a sham fight, and indulged 
in effervescing jollity of various descriptions. 

The last "Cornwallis" in the vicinity of Lancaster was 
held upon Burditt Hill, October 19, 1853, when the time- 
worn farce was re-enacted with a scenic display that out- 
shone all traditions. Nine uniformed companies of militia 
were present, one each from Berlin, Clinton, Groton, Leom- 
inster, Marlborough, Oakdale, Sterling, West Boylston, 
and Westminster. An equal number of Continental com- 
panies un-uniformed, in all manner of dress, came from 
Bolton, CHnton, Harvard, Lancaster, Leominster, Marl- 
borough, Rock Bottom, Shirley and Westminster, and a 
tribe of Indians from Berlin. Captain Jeremiah Barnard 
was in command of the Continentals, Sewall Richardson 
of Leominster enacted the role of General Washington, 
and Colonel Upton of Fitchburg, that of Cornwallis. The 
general parade of the troops occupied the morning hours, 
and a collation was partaken of at noon by fifteen hundred 
soldiers. After lunch the two armies were drawn up for 
battle on the hill, the British lines being half-way up the 
slope. The Continentals charged from Union street over 
the valley, and with more smoke and noise than that local- 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 241 

ity will probably ever experience again, carried the oppos- 
ing works by storm, and marched their prisoners to the 
common, where the ceremony of surrender took place with 
military formality. 

Forty years elapsed from the time the United States 
were acknowledged among independent nations, and the 
thirteen members of the original confederacy had become 
twenty-four, when an event occurred in Lancaster which 
revivified all the fading memories of the war for liberty, 
and inspired a day of festivity not equalled in enthusiasm 
of rejoicing b}' any that preceded it, nor surpassed by any 
of later years. One by one the general officers who served 
in the revolution had been borne to their graves, until 
Thomas Sumpter alone survived in America. In a foreign 
land, another, of exalted rank, "the high priest of cosmo- 
politism," one who with chivalric generosity gave up the 
comforts of a splendid home, and left wife and children to 
aid with his wealth and genius the Americans struggling 
for freedom — a major-general before he had seen his twen- 
tieth birthday — still lived, the most romantic figure of his 
age. The sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth anniversaries of 
his natal day were celebrated during his visit to the United 
States. 

Thursday, September 2, 1824, the hero whose name is 
oftenest coupled with that of Washington in the memory 
and speech of Americans, set out from Boston, through 
highways thronged by a grateful people invoking with 
tearful eyes and swelling hearts blessings upon his head. 
It was arranged that he should spend the first night of his 
journey in Bolton, at the mansion of Sampson V. S. Wilder, 
whom he had known in France. Elaborate and tasteful 
preparations had been made within and without the house 
for welcoming the nation's guest. Over the entrance was 
a triumphal arch, the inscription upon which was charac- 
teristic of the eccentric owner: "The Great Jehovah, 
Washington and Lafayette." For a long time after this 



242 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

was quoted in the vicinity as " Wilder's trinity." The man- 
sion and grounds were brilliantly illuminated. The Bolton 
Rifle Company, in their new green uniform, stood guard 
over the house all night. Lafayette could but be delighted 
with the beautiful homestead and his reception, and he is 
reported to have complimented his graceful hostess at de- 
parture by pledging his lifelong memory of " the fairy mis- 
tress of the enchanted castle." At the early hour of half- 
past six, Friday morning, Lafayette, escorted by a company 
of cavalry and accompanied by his son, M. Levasseur, a 
committee from Worcester, Generals Jewett, Gregory and 
staff, proceeded to the Lancaster line, over the turnpike 
road. The turnpike gate was covered with flowers and 
evergreen, and bore a legend, "The Free welcome the 
Brave." Here a national salute was fired by the artillery. 
Nearly opposite the meeting-house an arch thirty feet in 
height, and of nearly the same width, had been erected, 
and elaborately decorated. Upon it was the greeting : 

WELCOME LA FAYETTE. 
The American Eagle in triumph shall wave 
Its pinions of Glory to welcome the Brave. 

This arch, with its inscription, is yet preserved in the 
attic of the Brick church. The Leominster Artillery and 
the Lancaster Infantry had joined the escort. Passing 
through long lines of people — an immense concourse hav- 
ing assembled from all the country around — the general 
and his suite came to the arch, where they were met by the 
town's committee and conducted to a platform upon the 
green. There he was addressed by Doctor Thayer, as 
follows : 

General Lafayette. — In behalf of the inhabitants of Lancaster, I offer 
you their cordial congratulations on your arrival in a country whose wrongs 
you felt and resented ; whose liberties you valiantly defended ; and whose 
interests and prospects have always been dear to your soul. 

We all unite with the few surviving veterans which were with, loved 
and respected you on the high places of the field, in giving you a welcome 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 243 

to this village, once the chosen residence of savages, and the scene of their 
most boasted triumph ; and rejoice that you visit it under the improve- 
ments of civilized life, in prosperity and peace. 

It gladdens us that we and our children may behold the man, whom we 
have believed, and whom we have taught our children to believe, was sec- 
ond only to his and our friend, the immortal Washington. We partici- 
pate in your joy, on beholding our institutions in vigor, our population 
extended, so that since you left us, from a little one we have become mil- 
lions, and from a small band a strong nation ; that you see our glory rising, 
our Republic placed on an immovable basis, all of which are in part, under 
Providence, to be ascribed to your sacrifices, dangers and toils. 

We wish you health and prosperity. We assure you that wherever you 
shall go, you will be greeted by our fellow countrymen as one of the chief 
deliverers of America, and the friend of rational liberty and of man. It 
is especially our prayer, that on that day in which the acclamations and 
applauses of dying men shall cease to reach or affect you, you may receive 
from the Judge of character and Dispenser of imperishable honors, as the 
reward of philanthropy and incorruptible integrity, a crown of glory which 
shall never fade. 

Lafayette, conquering with difficulty the emotion which 
the eloquence of the venerable pastor had excited, replied 
nearly as follows : 

Accept my thanks, sir, for the kind welcome you have here offered me 
in the name of the inhabitants of Lancaster. In returning to this country 
after so long an absence, in receiving such proofs of gratitude and affec- 
tion wherever I go, in witnessing the prosperity of the land, a prosperity 
you are pleased to say I have been instrumental in promoting, I feel emo- 
tions for which no language is adequate ; in meeting again my former 
friends, in seeing the children and grandchildren of those who were my 
companions in the war of our revolution, I feel a gratification which no 
one can express. I beg you to accept, sir, and to offer to these people my 
acknowledgments. 

One who witnessed the inspiring scene and recorded the 
address and reply, continues thus : 

The surviving soldiers of the revolution dwelling in town were then 
introduced to the general, who received them in the most cordial and 
touching manner. He expressed himself highly gratified with the interest 
which the ladies discovered, pressing forward with eagerness to greet this 
distinguished friend of mankind. After remaining on the platform fifteen 
minutes receiving the various attentions and reciprocating the heartfelt 
delight experienced by the assembly, he returned to his carriage amid cor- 
dial huzzas and the discharge of a national salute from the artillery. 



244 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

At Sterling he was met by the artillery companies of 
that town and Princeton, and escorted to the triumphal arch 
which bore the inscription : 

WELCOME LAFAYETTE 
America's adopted son. 
Brother and Friend of Washington, 
Our Land in trouble found a Friend in thee, 
We'll not forget thee in prosperity. 

He here replied to a brief address from Isaac Goodwin, 
Esq., referring in terms of kindly remembrance to Lord 
Stirling — in whose honor the town received its name — 
and amid the booming of cannon and the acclamations of 
the multitude, rode on towards Worcester. 

A correspondent from Lancaster is quoted in the Colum- 
bian Centinel of Saturday, September ii, 1824: 

The ceremonies here were not intended for idle display, nor 

was it wished to vie with those towns which have greater means at com- 
mand. The preparations were few and simple. It was a moral spectacle 
of no ordinary interest, to see so large a collection of the well dressed and 
intelligent yeomanry of the county deeply interested in the proceedings of 
the occasion, offering the spontaneous homage of their hearts to him who 
stood by their country in the hour of her distress and weakness. There 
was not an individual unmoved by what was passing before him, during 
the short visit of the General — and you might see in every part of the 
crowd many of both sexes, and of all ages, whose moistened eyes told 
forth the strong feeling they neither wished nor were able to suppress. 
Such genuine heartfelt emotions have never before been so extensively 
excited amongst us. The praise of Lafayette swells in every heart, and is 
heard from every tongue. 

The enthusiasm has no limit but that of good order and decency. It 
is the overflowing of full hearts — the strong expression of gratitude for 
services and sacrifices we can never repay. It gives me pleasure to be 
able to state that the General fully appreciated the feelings his presence 
occasioned. On his way to Sterling he repeatedly expressed to Mr. S. V. 
S. Wilder, who accompanied him from Boston to Worcester, the pleasure 
he felt at the reception he met with in Lancaster, and mentioned in the 
strongest terms how deeply he was afl^ected with the address of Reverend 
Doctor Thayer. Nor was he insensible to the beautiful scenery in Lancas- 
ter — it came in for a full share of his praise 



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V. 

SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 

1786- 1787. 

WHEN peace had come and national independence was 
assured, and Massachusetts had time to count the 
cost of her tremendous exertions in behalf of liberty, she 
found herself weighed down by an enormous debt — nearly 
fifteen million dollars. She resolved to keep her credit 
free from reproach by revenues derived from direct taxa- 
tion ; but the people, groaning under personal sacrifices 
and sorrows — legacies of long years of war — became res- 
tive when additions to their burdens began to be made in 
the name of government. Many, maddened by what they 
deemed oppressive levies, refused tithe, and sought by mob 
violence to restrain the courts from enforcing the laws 
respecting debt. The ignorant could not discriminate be- 
tween the wrongs they had suffered under monarchical rule 
and the discomforts, deprivations and burdensome taxes 
consequent upon the contest that had made them free citi- 
zens of a republic. The grievances of the rebellious were, 
however, too real not to find abundant sympathy. The 
merchants' and attorneys' wives and daughters flaunted 
their foreign silks, feathers and laces, while the farmer's 
crops, though luxuriant, filled his barns, not his purse, and 
could with difficulty be bartered for the commonest clothing 
and domestic necessities. Many an owner of valuable es- 
tate in land, who had sought by temporary mortgage to 
enjoy wonted luxuries, and hold his acres also, found him- 
self bankrupt by a forced sale. Complaint and petition 
pressed the legislature for relief, but resolves could not 



246 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

avail to make the indolent industrious, to give employment 
to the artisan, to instruct the ignorant in political economy, 
to bestow farms upon the landless, or to fill with silver the 
pockets of the impecunious. Disappointment of exagger- 
ated hopes increased agrarian discontent. Demagogic 
agitators noisily advocated the turning of everything topsy 
turvy — the charlatan's cheap panacea for setting right 
times out of joint. Discussion and convention multiplied 
dissatisfaction, and finally degenerated into organized in- 
surrection. Then the common sense of the people asserted 
itself. The first signs of disaffection presaging the storm 
appeared even before the signing of the treaty of peace. 
The warrant for a town-meeting summoned April i, 1783, 
contains this article : 

3. To see if the Town will chuse one or more persons to meet at a 
Convention to be held at Worcester the 2"^ Tuesday of April next at 9 
O'clock in the Morning, there to take into consideration the many Greiv- 
ances the good people of this county at present Labour under, and to peti- 
tion the general Court for Redress, and to act or transact any thing relative 
thereto. 

The town sent as delegates to this county convention 
Captains Timothy Whiting and Ephraim Carter, and Whit- 
ing was chosen its secretary. Thirty-four delegates were 
present from twenty-six towns, and after passing a series 
of resolutions recommending certain instructions to the 
representatives in General Court, which were ordered 
printed in the Spy, the convention adjourned to the second 
Tuesday in May, when a larger representation of the peo- 
ple assembled, and more resolves were published. The 
next convention in August and meetings subsequent were 
not reported in the newspapers, nor in Lancaster town- 
meetings. When the town was represented, it was by the 
delegates first chosen. The Committees of Correspond- 
ence, Inspection and Safety were regularly elected in 1782 
and 1783, with other town officers, at the March meeting. 
In 1782 this committee consisted of Timothy Knight, Dan- 
iel Rugg, and Jeremiah Haskell ; in 1783, of Captain 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 247 

Timothy Whiting, Deacon Cyrus Fairbank, and Doctor 
Israel Atherton. 

The following circular letter gives indication of one 
form which the general unrest of the times took, a year or 
two later : 

Lunenburg, May 23"!, 1785. 
To the Selectmen of the Toivn of Bolton. 

Gentlemen, We have to acquaint you that on the nineteenth of 
May Instant in Pursuance of a Circular Letter from the Town of Leomin- 
ster, Delegates from the following Towns viz : Townshend, Shirley, Ashby, 
Lancaster, Harvard, Lunenburg, Leominster, and Fitchburg convened at 
Mr Whitney's in this town, to take into Consideration the Expediency of 
applying for a new County to be erected in this Quarter of the Goverment, 
where it was voted unanimously that it is highly Convenant that a New 
County be erected, and that a Committe be Chosen to write to the Towns 
of Groton, Dunstable, Littleton, Westford, Pepperel and Boxboro and 
Bolton, Berlin, Sterling, Princeton, Westminster, Ashburnham and 
Winchendon, to inform them of the Proceedings of the Convention, and 
to Request them to join Herein at the adjournment which is to be held on 
the third Tuesday of June Next at Nine o'Clock in the morning at Mr 
Whitney's Tavern in this town. We are Gentlemen 

Your most obed' and very Hu^*^: Serv'^: 
George Kimball 



Committee 
Saml. Dexter ) 

At a town-meeting held August 12, 1786, Ebenezer 
Allen was chosen "to represent the Town at the proposed 
County Convention to be holden at Leicester the 15"' Inst.," 
and a committee consisting of Captain Timothy Whiting, 
Moses Smith, John Sprague, Esq., Deacon William Wil- 
lard, Deacon Benjamin Houghton, Michael Newhall, and 
Captain Samuel Ward were elected "to prepare instruc- 
tions for the said Allen, and lay the same before the Town." 

Lancaster, August 14, 1786 

The Committee appointed by the Town to prepare Instructions for 
the Delegate to Convention laid the same before the Town and the same 
being read Paragraph by Paragraph, and the Question being put to see 
whether the Town would adopt them, and it Passed in the affirmative. 
Lancaster, August 21, 1786. 

The report of the Delegate from Convention being read and no objec- 
tion being made thereto the Town then voted to adjourn to the first Mon- 
day in October next at 3 O'Clock P.M. 



248 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

The instructions of the town to its delegate have not 
been discovered. The convention adjourned from Leices- 
ter, where tliirty-seven towns appeared by delegates, to 
Paxton, at which place forty-one towns were represented, 
and a petition to the General Court was agreed upon, 
which Lancaster's delegate reported to the adjourned town- 
meeting. 
Lancaster, October 2, 1786 

Then the Town went into the Consideration of the doings of the Con- 
vention and after accepting such articles in the Petition to the General 
Court, and rejecting others, as the Town thought proper, (which are noted 
in the margin of the sd. Petition), then voted to adjourn 

The proceedings of this town-meeting were more fully 
reported in the Worcester Magazine for the second week 
in October, 1786 : 

We hear from Lancaster on the 2'^ inst. the delegate to convention laid 
before the town for its consideration the petition agreed upon by that 
body, which was then examined article by article. On reading the 2^ 
article the delegate was asked what convention intended by '■'• a portable 
representation of property " and received no very satisfactory answer ; 
they passed the article with an exception " bid no paper 7notiey be tnadey 
On the 4"^ article the delegate was called on to inform what officer of the 
government was therein alluded to ; the delegate informed it was the 
Attorney General ; the town were of the opinion that the office of Attor- 
ney General should be expressly named which would more probably cause 
an explanation of a motion not accurately understood and perhaps heal a 
sore in the political body that otherwise might remain festering for a long 
time. The last clause in the S'*^ article which says "the grant of the sup- 
plementary fund we conceive inconsistent with republican principles and 
very grievous to this people," the town would not adopt. The 11'^ article 
respecting registry of deeds in the several towns in the county, was disap- 
proved by a great majority. The 13"^ and last article viz : the scheme for 
revising and amending the constitution (as it was termed,) was unani- 
mously rejected. The town having thus avowed the constitution, were 
inclined to instruct their Representative rather than petition the General 
Court through the instrumentality of Convention ; and accordingly directed 
the Clerk to forward the doings of the town to Capt. Carter the Repre- 
sentative, by the earliest opportunity, as the instructions of his Constitu- 
ents. 

After adjournment from November 20 and December 11, 
at which meetings no business offered, on January 4, 1787, 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 249 

.... The address from the General Court was then read and Consid- 
ered, and thereupon voted to choose a Committee of seven to draw up 
instructions for the representative, and thereupon voted and chose Sam^. 
Ward, Capt. Tim". Whiting, Jun'", John Sprague, Esq. Mr. Moses Sawyer. 
Mr. Jonathan Wilder, Deacon Cyrus Fairbank and Capt. Daniel Goss as a 
Committee for the above purpose. 

This committee reported at the adjournment of the 
meeting, January 22, 1787 ; 

.... and the said instructions being presented, read and considered 
paragraph by paragraph were voted and accepted by the Town ; also voted 

that the instructions be printed in the Worcester newspaper also 

to receive the report of the delegate to convention which being heard 
thereupon voted to discontinue the said Delegate to the County Conven- 
tion. 

To Capt. Ephraim Carter, yun. 

Sir. The law is the will of the state, and those laws seem most 
perfect which are the most equitable and convenient adjustments of the 
sentiments and interests of the whole people ; it is therefore the duty as 
well as the right of constituents to furnish their Representatives with their 
essential ingredients of legislation ; and no one will doubt that the Gen- 
eral Court are the only body to make the adjustments we now express. 
Your town have paid due attention to the late address to the people ; the 
submission of our publick affairs, and the doings of the General Court to 
the inspection and examination of the people we think a laudable and truly 
republican measure and is an evidence of the integrity as well as ability of 
the members of that honourable body, and could they have complied with 
some instructions to their members, which they have not yet done, we con- 
ceive they would have still further served the interest of the common- 
wealth. Your constituents are of opinion that in the ensuing session, it 
will be indispensably necessary to attend to the enacting of such laws as 
may alleviate the present distresses of the people, reconcile their jarring 
opinions, and restore tranquility to the state ; we therefore instruct you to 
attend particularly to the following articles. 

i*^'. The present mode of taxation has become so burthensome to the 
farming interest, that if continued in the same degree, it will as we think, 
not only totally discourage the industrious husbandman (on whom this 
commonwealth will probably ever depend for its greatest strength,) but 
fail of affording so large a revenue as the state of our publick affairs may 
require. If the abilities of the people of this commonwealth could be 
placed in a fair point of view, we presume good policy would dictate that 
the greatest part of our revenue should be raised by duties. Such a mode, 
in our opinion would divide the burden more equally, and better answer 

17 



250 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

the requirements of government. Import and excise, we suppose, might 
be much further extended to the ease of the people in general, and we 
wish the legislature to consider if the following articles &c. &c, may not 
be proper subjects for such an extension : — Clocks, time-pieces, watches, 
silver plate, spermaceti candles, tallow consumed in every family above a 
certain number of pounds, cyder, painted sleighs, glass windows beyond a 
certain number of squares in each house, commissions for a justice of 
peace, and dogs. 

2"^. That you endeavor the total abolition of the Courts of Common 
Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace ; and that their jurisdiction be 
transferred to the Supreme Judicial Courts, and that all processes origi- 
nated there, excepting some part of the business of sessions, may be 
transacted by their Justices of the peace quorum unos ; this indeed will 
make it necessary to increase the judges of the Supreme Judicial Court, 
and instead of their clerk's ofBce being kept in Boston, it must be kept in 
the several courts ; Such a change in that office we conceive, would be 
highly beneficial to the people ; nor will the increase of the number of 
Judges be a great increase of expense if two judges be made a quorum on 
the circuit, and compared with the present expense of the Courts of Com- 
mon Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, will be a saving worthy our 
attention, and by a power ot reviewing or granting a new trial, in certain 
cases no great failure of Justice can be feared ; to make every necessary 
change in the above transfer of jurisdiction, would be to furnish a bill 
rather than instructions, and improper here. 

2^. While we are burthened with so large a debt, we think the abili- 
ties of the people of this commonwealth will not admit of supporting that 
courtly dignity, which in more affluent circumstances might be thought 
necessary. Would it not therefore become us to consider our chief magis- 
trate, as a state officer, under no further obligations to expense but what 
arises from the discharge of his official duties : if our opinion in this re- 
spect is admissible you will use your endeavours to have the Governour's, 
and all other salaries, set as low as justice will admit of. 

4'^. The demands against the commonwealth for services are gener- 
ally made with avidity. You are therefore particularly instructed against 
grants which heretofore have been too often made without due caution, 
have exceeded the value of the service done, and have been a matter of 
offence and a burden to the people. 

5. It has been suggested by some, that government ought to call in 
their securities, at their present depreciated value ; We think that such an 
attempt would be inconsistent with justice and good policy ; nevertheless 
we presume that if such as have loaned monies to government would real- 
ize the present burden, the difficulties of collecting monies by taxation, 
the importance of supporting our credit with foreign nations, and the 
necessity of supporting our federal government, they would not complain 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 251 

if government should delay even the payment of their interest for the 
present, especially when they reflect, that what they have thus loaned them 
has been, and probably will be free from taxation — and we cannot think 
that any one who has become a creditor to government, by purchasing its 
securities, could complain of such a measure with a good grace, if he calls 
to mind the amazing disproportion there is between the property he parted 
with, and the claims he has on government. If necessity ever had a right 
to claim indulgence, we think considering the circumstances of the people, 
government are entitled to it ; therefore we expect you will oppose the ap- 
propriating any part of our revenue to the discharge of either the principal 
or interest of the domestic debt, excepting the necessitous circumstances 
of the original creditors of government shall require it. 

6'*'. You are to endeavour that many fines which have heretofore been 
otherwise appropriated, be paid into the state treasury. 

7">. Although we are persuaded that great advantages may be derived 
from a well regulated commerce, yet we think the commercial interest of 
this commonwealth ought never to engross so much of the attention of 
the legislature as to prevent their giving every due encouragement to our 
own manufactures. 

8">. The proportion of the taxes now laid on the polls is a burden 
that the poorer part of the people can very illy support, you are there- 
fore directed to endeavour a change in that proportion, and that it be 
made much lighter. 

9**^. The sitting of the General Court in the town of Boston is a mat- 
ter which the citizens of this commonwealth are not generally satisfied 
with — We therefore wish further attention may be paid to that subject, 
and that the Court may be removed to some other town, until the propriety 
of that question may be determined from experience. 

10*. The late outrageous and treasonable opposition to government, 

demands the most serious attention, and greatest wisdom of the legislature. 

The late pardon to the insurgents was truly humane and benevolent ; and 

although the conduct of those people thenceforth was a high aggravation 

of their former offences, yet, considering them as a part of the whole with 

us, we wish a further extension of mercy ; but we assure the legislature 

that we are ready to support our government according to our Constitution ; 

and while government is suppressing the insurrections of a wicked and 

deluded party, we wish that the right of the subject may be attended to, in 

all their exertions, and if any of the servants or forces of government 

have or shall unlawfully invade the person or property of any citizen, 

whatever may be his description, let such invader be punished with the 

same justice that ought to overtake the vilest traitor. 

By order of the Committee. 

Samuel Ward, Chairman. 
Lancaster, Jauy,^22, 1787. 



252 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

The convention of August 17, 1786, at Leicester, unan- 
imously voted to "bear testimony against all riots and un- 
constitutional combinations ;" but very soon thereafter the 
officers of various courts in the commonwealth found their 
path to the court-house obstructed by bayonets in the hands 
of rioters, led by the very men who inspired the action of 
that convention. The government had patiently conceded 
much to the real distress and to the misconceptions of the 
malcontents. Serious offences against the public peace 
were pardoned or ignored. Misunderstanding the quality 
of this mercy the offenders were emboldened to more open 
defiance of authority, and it became necessary, in self pre- 
servation, for the executive to resort to vigorous coercion. 
The danger which the weak and distracted legislature 
failed to meet, fortunately culminated when the state had a 
prudent and faithful governor, James Bowdoin, who, the 
instant the necessity came, put forth the strong arm of the 
commonwealth with such prompt vigor that the insurgents 
disappeared at mere sight of the coming blow. 

Lancaster, January i8''>, 1787. 
On Tuesday the 16* inst., Colonel Greenleaf waited on the two com- 
panies of militia in this town assembled agreeably to his orders, when he 
communicated to them with his usual propriety, the importance of shew- 
ing their disapprobation to the illegal measures which have been adopted 
by the insurgents, and the necessity of evidencing their attachment to the 
government. The propriety of supporting the present measures of gov- 
ernment against every opposition was urged as being necessary to enable 
them with dignity to remove our present complaints. After some calm 
debates on the subject, the Col., in order to discover their minds, requested 
all who were friends to government to follow him, when, with very few 
exceptions, the whole turned after him. He then informed them that 
twenty-eight men were required of the two companies to support the Court 
to sit at Worcester the 23'^. inst. and gave them opportunity to engage 
voluntarily under these restrictions, viz : whoever ofters his services shall 
be held to march, or produce an able effective man to the acceptance of 
the officer in lieu of himself; when the following persons hereafter named 
answered the requisition, viz: 

Col. William Greenleaf, Jonas Lane, Cephas Prentice, 

Capt. Nathaniel Beaman, Eli Stearns, James Otis Prentice, 

Capt. John Whiting, James Capen, David Smith, 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 253 

John Sprague, Elisha Phelps, Jacob Fisher, 

Josiah Wilder, Peter Beaman, Amos Pollard, 

Ephraim Carter, Jun., Abel Wheelock, William Bridge, 

Cyrus Fairbank, Samuel Wheelock, Jonathan Wheelock, Jr. 

Timothy Whiting, Jr., William Greenleaf, Jr., Thomas Richardson, 

Gershom Flagg, Merrick Rice, James White, 

Levi Willard, Habijah Wheelock, Abner Pollard, 31 

Joseph Wales, 

[Massachusetts Centinel, January 27, 1787.] 

Lancaster was the rendezvous for the troops from the 
eastern part of the county, and on January 24, five hundred 
men, forming a regiment under the command of Colonel 
Ephraim Stearns, marched to Worcester. The character 
of the Lancaster volunteers named above is good warrant 
for the credibility of the following statement in a letter 
written at the time : 

They are as fine a body of men as were ever assembled, composed of 
the most respectable characters in the places where they were raised. A 
circumstance worth relating is : there are in this regiment fifty or sixty 
persons who have borne commissions, some of which to command regi- 
ments in the late continental army and militia, who do duty in the ranks 
and submit to the hardships attendant on a soldier's life in this inclement 
season, with a spirit of patriotism and cheerfulness which nothing but the 
cause they are engaged in could inspire. 

One veteran soldier among these Lancaster volunteers 
had, during the revolution, served under Captain Daniel 
Shays, who now commanded the insurgents. Eli Stearns, 
in 1775, was an apprentice to a carpenter of Princeton by 
the name of Whittaker, who sent him as his substitute to 
join the army before Boston, and he was present at the bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill. In 1777 he enlisted in Colonel Thomas 
Nixon's regiment. While serving on a scout commanded 
by Captain Shays, he was struck by a bullet from an Indi- 
an's gun, which entered his cheek, and passing through 
his head came out under his right ear. After many months 
of suffering, he recovered sufficiently to be employed in 
the commissary department until discharged in 1783. He 
married Mary, the daughter of Jonathan Whitney, in Lan- 
caster, took up his residence there, became justice of the 



254 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

peace, and was unanimously chosen the town's representa- 
tive during five years, 1806-1810. 

Colonel William Greenleaf was sheriff of the county. 
On Wednesday the twenty-second of November, 1786, he 
had, from the court-house steps in Worcester, read the riot 
act and harangued an armed mob there congregated to 
prevent the sitting of the Court of General Sessions. One 
of the orators of the insurgents, in reply, took the occasion 
to state that among many grievances which they found too 
oppressive for human endurance, and from which they were 
resolved to have speedy relief, were the sheriff himself and 
his exorbitant fees. Colonel Greenleaf coolly rejoined : 
"If you deem my fees for execution oppressive, gentlemen, 
you need not wait longer for redress ; I will hang you all 
for nothing, with the greatest pleasure." 

Captains Nathaniel Beaman, Timothy and John Whiting 
had served as officers in the army of the Revolution, and 
the latter attained the rank of brigadier-general in the mili- 
tia. Honorable John Sprague was at this time state sena- 
tor. He served upon the staff of the commanding general. 

The regiment of Colonel Stearns having joined the 
other state troops, under General Benjamin Lincoln, at 
Worcester, on the twenty-fifth of January marched against 
the insurgents, who, to the number of two thousand, were 
at Springfield, but retreated to Pelham upon the approach 
of the militia, January 27. Lincoln led his forces to Had- 
ley, whereupon Shays judiciously and secretly changed his 
base to Petersham. Thither Lincoln promptly pursued, 
starting at eight o'clock on the evening of February 13, 
Colonel Stearns's regiment being in advance. From Had- 
ley to Petersham, thirty miles, the troops marched that 
night, through an almost mountainous country, and during 
the last part of the way facing a violent storm. The drift- 
ing snow impeded their steps, and it grew so intensely cold 
that the majority of the force were frost-bitten. To the 
hardiest soldier, that terrible night's march was something 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 255 

to be remembered for life. Within twelve hours of the 
order to move, the advance guard of the army had reached 
their destination, it being then Sunday morning. Shays 
and his "regulators" were completely taken by surprise, and 
fled in hot haste, scattering in every direction. The insur- 
rection was practically at an end. No one was punished 
for sedition, and three years later the vigorous financial 
policy of Alexander Hamilton silenced the majority of the 
grumblers. The first Federal Congress was persuaded to 
pass a funding bill, and to authorize the assumption of the 
state war debts by the national government. Taxes were 
correspondingly lightened ; trade revived ; manufactures 
were introduced and prospered ; numbers of the landless 
migrated to the valley of the Ohio; and in April, 1791, 
Fisher Ames, writing of the people so lately distracted by 
the prospect of bloody civil war, says : "There is a scarcity 
of grievances. Their mouths are stopped with white bread 
and roast meat." 

Lists of the men from Lancaster and adjoining towns, 
who served in the expedition against Shays, and in subse- 
quent guard duty, follow. No residences are given in the 
original rolls, and an entirely accurate determination of 
them is not here possible : 



Pay Roll of CapPK NathK Beemait's Compy, Col". Eph>". Stearns's Regi- 
ment, for services retidered to Commonwealth of Masstts. in the 
months of Jany. and Feby. 1787. 

[Chiefly men of Lancaster and Sterling ; serving from Jan. 15 to Feb. 21.] 

Capt. Nathaniel Beeman, Joshua Eveleth, Amos Pollard, 

Lieut. Timothy Brown, Jacob Fisher, Elisha Phelps, 

Ensign Nathaniel Houghton, Manasseh Fairbank, J. Otis Prentice, 

Sergt. Eli Stearns, Salmon Godfrey, Thomas Richardson, 

" Aaron Willard, John Gill, Joshua Read, 

'• Jonas Lane, William Gibbs, Jacob Read, 

" Jacob Robbins, Benjamin Holden, Nathan Read. 

Corp. Josiah Phelps, Joseph Holden, Artemas Richardson, 

" Elias Farnsworth, Andrew Haskell, Phineas Richardson, 



256 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Corp. Joseph Reed, 

" Artemas Maynard, 
Drum''. Zimri Eveleth, 
Fortunatus Ager, 
Ammi Brooks, 
Peter Beeman, 
William Bridge, 
Silas Buss, 
Ebenezer Burpee, 
Joseph Baker, 
James Capen, 
Bartholomew Cheever, 
Eliphas Copeland, 
James Curtis, 
Dunsmore Dole, 
Joseph Eveleth, 
Joseph Eveleth, Jr., 



Samuel Haynes, 
Eli Houghton, 
Abel Kendall, 
Pearson Kendall, 
Asa Knowlton, 
John Littlejohn, 
Seth Lyon, 
Abel Moore, 
Paul Mason, 
Silas Mason, 
Artemas Manning, 
Asa Maynard, 
Houghton Osgood, 
Abijah Phelps, 
David Phelps, 
Abner Pollard, 



Asa Rugg, 
David Smith, 
Manasseh Sawyer, 
Jonas Stearns, 
Richard Smith, 
Israel Underwood, 
Abel Wheelock, 
Abijah Wheelock, 
Samuel Wheelock, 
James White, 
Asa Whitcomb, 
Joel Wilder, 
Andrew Whitney, 
Lewis Woolson, 
Manasseh Wilder, 
Asa Whitcomb, 
Joseph Wyman, 
[Massachusetts Archives, cxci, 92.] 



Pay Roll of Capt. Nathaniel Beamaii's Company, Col. NeweWs Regiment 
in the service of Government, inlisted for four fnonths frojn ike 2y^. 
of Febry. 1787. [Served to May 31.] 



Capt. Nathaniel Beaman, 
Lieut. Timothy Brown, 
Ensign James Curtis, 
Sergt. Jonas Stearns, 
" Jacob Robbins, 
" William Gibbs, 
" Joseph Wyman, 
Corp. Oliver Fullam, 
" Artemas Maynard, 
" Timothy Brigham, 
" Reuben Kendall, 
Drum''. Augustus Kendall, 
Fifer Joseph Chaplin, 
Samuel Rice, 
Phineas Richardson, 
Abner Mitchell, 
John Butler, 
Mitchel Richards, 
James Wade McDunn, 
Jonathan Clark, 



Benjamin Bailey, 
William Bigelow, 
John Ford, 
Raymond Hunt, 
Joseph Eveleth, 
Abijah Hagar, 
Abel Wood, 
Abraham Eager, 
Bartholomew Brown, 
Daniel Mixer, 
Ephraim Whitcomb, 
Ephraim Adams, 
Eliuda Bartlett, 
Joseph Hoar, 
Josiah White, 
Joel Warren, 
Jacob Brown, 
Isaac Stearns, 
Joseph Hasty, 



James Moore, 
John Harward, 
John Haskell, 
John Whitcomb, 
Phineas Warren, 
Roderick McKenzey, 
Samuel Burbank, 
Silvanus Holden, 
Stephen Torrey, 
Theophilus Page, 
Thomas Cook, 
William De Putrin, 
William Barker, 
Amasa Bigelow, 
Daniel Cowden, 
Ebenezer Fay, 
William Boardman, 
Thomas Walcot, 
William Flood. 



[Massachusetts Archives, cxci, 93.] 



SHAYS' INSURRECTION. 



257 



Pay Roll of Capt. John WJiiting's Company, of Colonel Ebenezer LoveWs 
Regiinent in the service of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for 
wages and de^cient rations. 

[Service : January 30 to February 18.] 



Capt. John Whiting, 

Lieut. John Watson, 

Ensign Israel Manning, 

Clerk Elisha Rugg, 

Sergt. Elihu Wilder, 
" Job SpafFord, 
" Abel Baker, 
" Jonathan Bush, 

Corp. Joseph Prescott, 
" James Ellis, 
" Ebenezer Pike, 
" Joshua Wilder, . 

Drum^ Augustus Kendall, 

Abel Allen, 

Oliver Carter, 

Samuel Carter, Jr., 

Jonas Carter, 

Haran Eager, 

Nathaniel Kendall, 

John Maynard, 

Joseph Hoar, 



John Prescott, 
Samuel Ward, 
Levi Wilder, 
John Wilder, 
Daniel Garfield, 
Joseph Haynes, 
Elisha Hobbs, 
Samuel How, 
James Hunt, 
Ephraim Myrick, 
John Richardson, 
Moses Thatcher, 
Thomas Wyman, 
Joseph Wilder, 
Nathan Burpee, 
Cyrus Belknap, 
William Carter, 
William Kilburn, 
William Palmer, 
Andrew Petegrew, 



Thomas Sawyer, Jr., 
Thos. Sawyer, tertins, 
Joseph Wiilard, 
Phinehas Wilder, 
Reuben Ross, 
James Atherton, 
Lemuel Burn ham, 
Cyrus Hamblin, 
Jonathan Houghton, 
James Houghton, 
William Woodbury, 
Thomas Welch, 
Coffin Chapin, 
John Barnard, 
Josiah Barnard, 
Charles Holman, 
Martin Cox Jones, 
Isaac Moore, 
Shadrach Priest, 
Abijah Pratt. 



[Massachusetts Archives, CXCII, 212.] 
Capt. William Sa%uyer''s Company, in Col. Stearns''s Regiment. 
[Of Bolton and Harvard, serving from January 23, to February 21.] 



Capt. William Sawyer, 
Lieut. Henry Powers, 
Ensign Jonas Welch, 
Clerk Rufus Moor, 
Sergt. Eli Longley, 
" Europe Hamlin, 
" Eber Goddard, 
" Manassah Fairbank, 
Corp. James Britain, 
*' Silas Whitcomb, 
*' Thaddeus Brown, 
" Stephen Nurse, 
Fifer Jonathan Barnard, 
Joshua Hemmingway, 
William Bigelow, 



Simeon Hemmingway,Peter Atherton, 
Benjamin Hastings, Eleazar Hamlin, Jr. 



William Hastings, 
David Whitcomb, 
Asa Whitcomb, 
Jonathan Holman, 
Levi Townsend, 
Calvin Bush, 
Uri Sawyer, 
Simeon Conant, 
Joseph Houghton, 
Ebenezer Moore, 
David Nurse, 



Richard Bryant, 
Stephen Cleverly, 
Caleb Parker, 
Joseph Hoar, 
Caleb Fairbank, 
Abel Hastings, 
Sanderson Carter, 
Henry Temple, 
Moses Coolidge, 
Benjamin How, 
Silas Jones, 
Silas Houghton, 



Gustavus Goss, 

Jonathan Whitcomb. Andrew Kittell, 

William Ross. 
[Massachusetts Archives, cxci, 109.] 



258 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Capt. Levi Warner^ s 
[Of Leominster; 

Capt. Levi Warner, 

Lieut. John Leach, 

Ensign John Billings, 

Clerk Timothy Stearns, 

Sergt. Thomas Legate, 
" Benjamin Stuart, 
" Nathaniel Joslin, 

Corp. Samuel Kendall, 
" Oliver Carter, 
" Abiathar Houghton, 
" Levi Phelps, 

Drum"" Joseph Joslin, 

Fifer Joseph Snow, 

Robert Legate, 

William Legate, 

Jabez Fairbank, 



Company, in Col. Steams'' s Regiment. 
serving January 20 to February 22.J 



Jonas Johnson, 
Benjamin Milliken, 
Noah Harrod, 
Daniel McGregore, 
Joseph Knight, 
Daniel Carter, 
John Boutel, 
Heman Evans, 
Levi Nichols, 
William Boutel, Jr., 
Levi Joslin, 
William Jepson, 
John Shed, 
William Warren, 
Jesse Lincoln, 
Thomas Lincoln, 



Luther Houghton, 
Luther Phelps, 
Samuel Ruggles, 
John Richardson, Jr. 
Jeremiah Chace, 
Joseph Darling, 
Jonas Jones, 
Joshua Kimball, 
Peter Wilder, 
John Hills, 
William Burrage, 
Stephen Wood, 
Abel Wood, 
James Carter, 
Benjamin Peirce. 



[Massachusetts Archives, cxcil, 183.] 



Of the field and staff officers of Colonel Stearns's regi- 
ment were : Lieutenant-Colonel Timothy Boutell, of 
Leominster ; Quartermaster-Sergeant William Greenleaf, 
Jr., Drum-Major Jonathan Wheelock, and Surgeon's Mate 
Cephas Prentice, of Lancaster. John White and Gershom 
Flagg, of Lancaster, served with a detachment of artillery 
under Major William Stevens, from Jan. 15 to Feb. 9. 



Capt. Andrew Putnam'' s Cavalry Company, in Col. Ebenezer Craffs 

Regi7nent. 
[Serving January 23 to February 6.] 



Capt. Andrew Putnam, 
Lieut. John Whitney, 
Lieut. John Ballard, 
Cornet Robert Townsend, 
Trump''. John Lock, 
Sergt. Jonathan Prescott, 



William Hobart, 
Peter Hunt, 
Timothy Goldsmith, 
Thomas Chace, 
William Ballard, 
Nahum Ball, 
Edmund Heard was lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. 

[Massachusetts Archives, CXCII, 45,] 



Israel Thayer, 
Asa Warner, 
Manasseh Knight, 
William Putnam, 
Samuel Sargeant, 
Josiah Divol. 



The only person in the Lancastrian towns known to 
have been arrested on suspicion of treasonable complicity 



DEATH OF ANDREW HASKELL. 259 

with the insurrection, was Brigadier-General Josiah Whit- 
ney of Harvard, whose services during the Revolution 
have been set forth in former pages. 



In the Indian War of 1 790-1 794, upon the northwest 
frontier, but one of Lancaster's citizens is known to have 
served his country in the field, though there very probably 
were others. Andrew Haskell, who commanded a com- 
pany of his neighbors in the battle of Bunker Hill, and 
fought in various capacities, from captain to private, 
throughout the war of the revolution, enlisted in the little 
army which marched under General Arthur St. Clair 
against the Miamis, and was slain in the disastrous fight of 
November 4, 1791. Haskell was a fearless and efficient 
soldier, but uneducated, rough in manners, and probably 
incapable of self-restraint. Joseph Willard, Esq., records, 
doubtless from the authority of his companions in arms, 
that Haskell's conduct as an officer on June 17, 1775, would 
have entitled him to reward, but that he was "kept from 
promotion by his want of dignity and self-respect." He is 
described as well proportioned, within an inch of six feet 
in height, with black hair and eyes. At his death he was 
forty-three years of age. 



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VI. 

WARS WITH ENGLAND AND ALGIERS. 

1812-1815. 



DURING the desperate conflict that raged in the first 
decade of the current century, between England and 
the Emperor Napoleon, neither belligerent was restrained by 
any respect for the rights of weaker nations, and neutrals 
suflTered in their commercial interests almost equally with 
the combatants. Orders in council and imperial decrees 
threatened and obstructed the mercantile navies of the 
world, and the merchants of the United States, having built 
up an extensive and profitable carrying trade, were espe- 
cially sufferers. In revolutionary days American patriot- 
ism had met Great Britain's arbitrary trade restrictions with 
the self-denying policy of non-intercourse. The same re- 
taliatory measure approved itself to the Jeffersonian admin- 
istration, and a general embargo was proclaimed. But in 
the changed conditions of the body politic the operation of 
this measure was now claimed to be sectional. It worked 
grievous distress to the Northern states. Ships soon lay 
rotting at the deserted wharves, and, although bread was 
abundant, mechanics grew gaunt with hunger because 
their labor would not purchase food. The Southern and 
Midland states, chiefly devoted to agriculture, controlled 
the government by virtue of slave representation. With 
them the embargo was popular for a time, and perhaps not 
the less so, that it struck a damaging blow at the prosperity 



THE EMBARGO. 261 



of their aggressive political foes, the New England Feder- 
alists. The grievances of the ruined merchant and the 
unemployed workman found voice speedily in the resolu- 
tions of the New England town-meeting. 

September 15, 1808, Lancaster voted to petition Presi- 
dent Jefferson for the suspension of the embargo, and 
Major Joseph Hiller, Honorable William Stedman and 
Captain Samuel Ward were chosen to draft the document, 
which was duly forwarded. William Stedman was at this 
date representative in Congress : 

The inhabitants of the Town of Lancaster in the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, in legal town-meeting assembled, respectfully solicit the 
attention of the President of the United States to the following repre- 
sentation : 

It has been with an honest pride that we have viewed the rising glory 
and wealth of our nation. We have cheerfully contributed by the "sweat 
of our brow" to the support of the federal government, believing that 
human wisdom could not devise a more perfect system for the protection 
of our national rights and for encouraging us in the diligent use of the 
means of subsistence and accumulation. 

Trained up in the belief that Agriculture and Commerce are reciprocal 
in their supports and inseparable in their interests, we cannot silently en- 
dorse the long continuance of the Embargo, a measure calculated (as we 
conceive) to sever those supports and interests ; to check the spirit of 
enterprise, and take away the hopes and rewards of industry. 

When the embargo was laid by Congress, alth<*. we could not perceive 
its necessity, we were induced to acquiescence by an habitual resolution to 
respect the constituted authorities of our country and to obey the laws. 
We frankly confess it has not been in our power to reconcile the reason 
assigned, viz: "to keep in safety our vessels, our seamen, and merchan- 
dise from the dangers with which they are threatened on the high seas and 
elsewhere, from the belligerent powers of Europe," with extending the 
restrictions for Commerce to the safe and peaceable inland parts of the 
community. 

Seeing that by this measure, after an unexampled experiment, the chief 
sources of our country's wealth are closed ; sensibly feeling the injury, in 
the depreciation of our agricultural products, and in the inevitable waste 
of a proportion of them, for want of a market ; finding also, that the im- 
ported articles without which we cannot comfortably subsist, have so risen 
in value that we have no means to procure them, we are imperiously 
urged to address the Tresident of the United States for relief. 

The evils we have recited are in comparison of little moment. We 



262 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

deeply lament, that by annihilating the customary incentives to virtuous 
industry and by multiplying the temptations to violate the laws and to 
commit fraud and injustice, a state of things may be introduced which can 
scarcely be equalled by the desolations of war. The changes which have 
recently taken place among the belligerent nations and the prospect some 
of them present, of emancipation from the dominion of the Common 
Usurper, and the consequent scarcity promised to the Commerce of the 
United States we presume are sufficiently apjDarent. The relaxation of the 
British orders in Council as respects neutral trade with those parts of Spain 
which are struggling for self government opens to the United States an 
extensive commerce. South America and the West Indian Islands also, 
offer safe and profitable markets for American produce. Indeed there 
appear to us many other sources of profitable trade, inviting the enterprise 
of the merchant, which to the President need not be mentioned. Could 
the commercial advantages they offer be engaged even under the restric- 
tions the President is authorized to require, the labors of the husbandman 
and mechanic would again be encouraged and they rescued from those 
distresses which threaten to destroy that competency their industry has 
acquired, and those blessings which the wise policy of former measures 
had promised. We therefore earnestly entreat the President to exercise 
the power vested in him by Congress, to suspend the whole or in part the 
act laying an Embargo, and the several acts supplementary thereto, or to 
convene that honorable body as soon as may be, for the purpose of ter- 
mining the sufferings those acts have occasioned. Sepf. 3, 1808. 

February i, 1809, the town met — 

2, To take into Consideration the alarming situation of our 

Public affairs, and to Petition or address the Legislature of this State on 
the subject of our grievances, or to do or transact any matter and things 
relative thereto which the town may deem expedient and necessary. . . . 

The town voted — to commit the subject matter of the second article 
in the warrant to a committee of five. 

Voted, and Chose : Joseph Hiller, Moses Smith, Jr., Jonathan Wilder, 
Samuel Ward, John Thurston, Committee. 

The committee's report was accepted, but not recorded. 
The chairman of this and the before-named committee, 
Major Joseph Hiller, was a venerable ex-collector of Salem, 
who came to Lancaster to reside in 1804, and purchased 
the Wilder farm, so called, now occupied by the state's In- 
dustrial School for Girls. This place had for about fifteen 
years been in the possession of Burrill Carnes, Captain 
Benjamin Lee, and other English gentlemen, who had 



MAJOR JOSEPH HILLER. 263 

lavished large sums upon it to give it the semblance of 
an old-country baronial estate. The spacious three-story 
mansion of brick, begun by Colonel Caleb Wilder in the 
days of the revolution, had its milk cellar and wine closets, 
spacious guest chambers, and all the appointments of an 
elegant homestead. A semicircular corridor nine feet in 
width and seventy feet long adjoined the house, and bound- 
ed a garden wherein grew English strawberries and other 
small fruits, flowering plants and shrubs in great variety. 
About it was a lawn of three acres adorned with choice 
trees, and near at hand a farm house, extensive barns and 
offices, and a fine coach house in which was kept the only 
family coach in the town. The relics of a paled deer-park 
also told of the taste and wealth of earlier owners. Joseph 
Hiller was a jeweller by trade, Master of the Essex Masonic 
Lodge, a thorough patriot and a public-spirited Christian 
citizen. At the Lexington Alarm he led a company from 
Salem to Cambridge, and served later in the Rhode Island 
expedition. He was made major of the First regiment of 
militia in i778« Washington showed his esteem for him 
by making him the first collector at Beverly and Salem. 
In the custom house at the latter place hangs his portrait. 
The major had an enthusiastic admiration for Washington, 
and displayed it by wearing an agate seal upon which was 
a portrait head of the father of his country, beautifully cut 
in England for its wearer, at a cost of twenty guineas. 
Having lost his wife, two accomplished daughters presided 
over his home. 

With these valued immigrants from quaint old Salem, 
there came into the green meadows of Lancaster a spicy 
perfume of East Indian commerce, a novel flavor of nauti- 
cal romance breathing of "the mystery and magic of the 
sea." Captain Richard J. Cleveland — one of Major Hill- 
er's sons-in-law, and one of the most highly esteemed of 
Lancaster's citizens — lost one ship and its valuable cargo, 
unjustly confiscated by the rapacious English admiral, 



264 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Cochrane, under the pretence of authority derived from 
orders in council. He was soon after robbed of another 
vessel by Napoleon's agents. The dramatic narrative of 
Cleveland's daring commercial enterprises has been told by 
his own modest pen, and public interest in them has been 
quite recently renewed by a son's loving tribute to his fath- 
er's memory, entitled : Voyages of a Merchant Navigator. 

The friends of Jefferson's administration, the French 
party, as the Federalists stigmatized them, were very few 
in Lancaster. The most prominent of these were two 
brothers, Timothy and John Whiting, who, had they been 
of the political faith then dominant in the commonwealth, 
might have gained influence and fame proportionate to 
their ability. As boys of eighteen and sixteen years they 
marched beside their father — who was a veteran soldier 
and served Lancaster in 1755, at Lake George — at the 
head of the company of minute men who hurried from 
Billerica on the nineteenth of April, 1775, to take part in 
the pursuit of the British from Lexington. During the 
revolution the family came to Lancaster to reside. The 
elder son, Timothy, Jr., succeeded his father as tavern 
keeper upon the Old Common, was the second postmaster 
of Lancaster, holding the office for twenty-two years, 
1803-1825, and like his brother, became associate justice 
of the Court of Sessions. At a special election, October 
8, 1810, he was the Jeftersonian candidate for Congress, in 
place of William Stedman of Lancaster, who had resigned 
his seat ; and again was the unsuccessful nominee for the 
same oflice at the regular election in November of the 
same year. 

John Whiting served under Arnold and Gates in 1776, 
and displayed such military ability that he received the 
commission of ensign in the Twelfth Massachusetts Conti- 
nental Regiment, and when but nineteen years of age was 
promoted to a first-lieutenancy, with which rank he served 
on staff duty during the war. He was highly esteemed in 



GENERAL JOHN WHITING. 265 

Lancaster, being a favorite moderator at public meetings, 
and commonly one of the school-committee. At the age 
of twenty-nine he was chosen deacon, and was nearly 
always employed in some capacity in the management of 
the town's prudential affairs. Experienced and zealous in 
military matters, he soon rose to the rank of brigadier- 
general in the militia. In politics, however, he was less 
successful, being defeated at several successive elections 
when candidate for state senator or representative to con- 
gress, although his neighbors very generally waived their 
whig prejudices, attesting their sense of his manly worth 
by honoring him with a majority of the town's votes. 

Politics then raged with a fervor never since exceeded, 
and partisans indulged in vituperation without restraint of 
decency ; but political opponents found little in John Whit- 
ing's character to blame, and their attempts to throw ridi- 
cule upon him turned chiefly upon his polite manners. 
They acknowledged that he was early upon the first battle 
ground of the revolution, but — "only as a fifer." They 
credited him with being " a good deacon and a good book- 
binder," but sneered about his ability to "enter and depart 
from a room with a genteel air." When his friends dilated 
upon his mastership of the English, Latin and French 
languages, and the breadth of his general scholarship, his 
political foes affected to discredit the depth of that scholar- 
ship, and would recognize no merit in him superior to that 
of his rivals, save that the general could undoubtedly 
"make the best bow." In 1808, General Henry Dearborn, 
secretary of war in Jefferson's cabinet, offered him a com- 
mission as lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth U. S. Infantry, 
which he accepted. He died at Washington, September 
3, 1810, aged fifty years. General William Eaton says of 
him : "He was a most lovable Christian gentleman, a pure 
and good man." 

Congress so far heeded the numerous complaints of the 
suffering people as, in March, 1809, to repeal the embargo, 
18 



266 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

substituting for it a milder non-intercourse act, which proved 
inefficient and unsatisfactory to both Democrats and Feder- 
alists. In brief, the administration was anxiously striving 
to preserve peace, but never pursuing the only peace meas- 
ure that could win respect at home or abroad — diligent 
preparation for war. Both England and France persisted 
in insolent aggression ; but near the close of the year 1810, 
Napoleon revoked all decrees inimical to the United States. 
England, besides her plundering of defenceless American 
merchantmen under various pretences, added the grosser 
outrage of man-stealing under cover of the exercise of a 
right of search upon the high seas. No sailor upon an 
American vessel was safe from impressment and slavish 
service in the British navy, unless he could satisfactorily 
prove to the kidnappers that he was born on American 
soil. By the British naval officer — familiar with the un- 
scrupulous methods of the press-gang and lacking able 
seaman — noble brawn and thoroughbred sea-dog bearing 
were too often held to be ample proof of allegiance due 
King George. A strange commentary upon the arrogant 
enforcement, in 1810, of this alleged right over neutral 
commerce, was the noisy wrath of Englishmen in 1861, 
when an United States naval commander arrested two trai- 
tors on board the Trent. There was also much reason to 
suspect that British influence was busily instigating the 
powerful Indian tribes both of the West and the South to 
begin hostilities. Submission to such insults and injuries 
had long dishonored the nation. Without navy or army, 
military leaders or financial resources adequate to the emer- 
gency, June 19, 181 2, war was declared. The vote in 
Congress that decided the question was practically divided 
on geographic lines, and so fierce was the heat of political 
partisanship that the opponents of the administration uni- 
versally protested against the war as suicidal and unneces- 
sary, and declared that only office-holders, office-seekers, 
bankrupts and a Jacobin mob favored it. 



THE WAR OF 1812. 267 

On Wednesday, June 24, 181 2, at a special town-meet- 
ing called in Lancaster to remonstrate against the declaring 
of war with England, Jonathan Wilder, Moses Smith, Eli 
Stearns, Jacob Fisher, Joseph Wales, Josiah Flagg and 
Jonas Lane were chosen a committee to present suitable 
resolutions. The report of this committee, made after an 
hour's adjournment, was read and accepted, one hundred 
and fifteen voting for, and fifteen against it. It was ordered 
that a copy should be transmitted to the President of the 
United States, and that it should be printed in the Colum- 
bian Centinel. In that paper it appeared as follows, in the 
issue of July 4 : 

At a numerous meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of 
the town of Lancaster legally convened for the purpose of considering the 
alarming state of the country, — The following REPORT of their Com- 
mittee was almost unanimously adopted. 

The right of expressing our opinion of public men and measures, is a 
privilege guaranteed and secured to us by our National as well as State 
Constitutions. And at this alarming crisis of national concerns when 
recent intelligence confirms the belief that we are now upon the eve of a 
British war it is impossible for good citizens anxious for their general wel- 
fare not to feel deeply interested in so great an event. And sensibly 
affected by that interest it is an indispensable duty to God and their 
country to give expression to their feelings and sentiments on a measure 
which involves everything dear and valuable in society. But although 
such a cause of procedure may have no immediate influence on the plans 
and measures now adopting by the General Government, yet when com- 
bined with similar expressions of other towns and sections of the country, 
it will evince to Congress and the world, that the great mass of the people, 
especially in the Eastern States, are utterly averse to a war, in the prosecu- 
tion of which they are unable to discover anything but ruin to themselves 
and misery to their posterity. Were it probable in the view of govern- 
ment that this would have been the issue, good policy it should seem, 
would have dictated a state of preparation adequate to the exigency of the 
case — Against such a day of darkness and of danger a wise and prudent 
administration would have laid up something in store to have softened and 
alleviated the afflictions and distresses incident to such a state. But it is 
a melancholy consideration and one that must sicken and damp the cour- 
age of even the stoutly brave, that we are now to be plunged into a war 
with the most powerful maritime nation on the globe without any adequate 
means of attack or self defence. 



268 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

From this concise view of the subject, and considering the defenceless 
state of the nation — the inadequacy of means to annoy the declared enemy 
— the want of resources to prosecute the war with effect — the uncertainty 
of its duration — and almost certainty of its terminating whether sooner or 
later in our own disgrace and ruin, a picture is presented fraught with 
scenes the bare imagination of which shock humanity and fill the soul with 
awful gloom. From these considerations connected with many others that 
naturally crowd upon our minds, and in compliance with the views and 
wishes of the patriotic town of Boston, your Committee are induced to 
recommend to the town for their discussion and adoption the following 
resolutions. 

Resolved — as the sense of this town that although we deem it a duty 
to submit to the wise and wholesome laws of the government, still under 
existing circumstances we are constrained to declare that we consider a 
British War as neither founded in justice, necessity or good policy, and as 
calculated only to bring an endless train of evils upon ourselves, and in- 
volve our posterity in ruin and disgrace. That in the prosecution of a 
War against England we can discern nothing but a total destruction of 
the remnant of our maritime rights — a prostration of the agricultural and 
mechanic interests — an enormous increase of the public debt — unparal- 
leled taxes and a host of tax gatherers following in the rear. In the event 
of such a war, we also perceive in the background an alliance with France, 
whose embrace experience of the past foretells will be our political death. 

Resolved — That we consider it the true interest of our nation to main- 
tain a neutral position, and pursuing the Washington policy not to depart 
therefrom without the most urgent necessity — That to suffer the nation to 
be drawn into the vortex of European politics, and of course participate 
in their contests and Wars, will inevitably prove the downfall of our infant 
republic. 

Resolved — That if the interest or honor of the nation demanded a 
sacrifice of our lives and fortunes in carrying on an offensive War against 
either of the belligerents yet we can neither perceive the policy or justice 
in selecting England as the most suitable object of our resentment. That 
if the Decrees of France and the Orders in Council of England have oper- 
ated an infringement of neutral rights, documents and facts abundantly 
show that England was not the first aggressor — And that it is an unde- 
niable fact that England has uniformly declared her Orders in Council 
repealed whenever France should fully revoke her decrees. 

Resolved — That we view the restrictive system, in all the forms it has 
assumed, as inconsistent with the genius and habits of the people, — as re- 
pugnant to the true spirit and meaning of the constitution — as tending to 
impoverish the nation and eventually, if persisted in, to weaken and finally 
destroy the government. That we deem it a solemn obligation imposed 
on every citizen by a true and genuine patriotism to use all fair and hon- 



THE WAR OF 1812. 269 

orable means in the exercise of his elective franchise to produce a speedy 
change in the Administration of our National Government, and thereby 
save us from the horrors and calamities of war, and ere it be too late re- 
establish our common country in its wonted peace and happiness, its for- 
mer rank and dignity among the nations of the earth. 
Lancaster, June 24, 18 12. 
The foregoing report being twice read and discussed voted to adopt 

the same. 

Attest. Joseph Hiller, Moderator. 

JosiAH Flagg, Town Clerk. 

The declaration of war met with very few sympathizers 
in New England. Like many of his brother clergymen, 
the pastor of Lancaster, Reverend Nathaniel Thayer, 
seized the opportunity of a day of "Publick Humiliation 
and Prayer, appointed by the National Government who 
had declared War against Great Britain," August 20, 1812, 
to preach a denunciatory sermon, in which he inveighed 
against what he esteemed the iniquitous policy of the ad- 
ministration, taking for his text Jeremiah iv, 19: 

.... I am pained at my very heart; .... I cannot hold my peace, 
because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm 
of war. 

Probably very few of his congregation but applauded 
the preacher's political sentiments, although it is related 
that Jacob Sweetser, indignant at some vehement arraign- 
ment of the administration, slammed his pew door behind 
him and marched out of the meeting-house, pounding his 
cane along the aisle as he went. 

In the warrant summoning a town-meeting, February 
21, 1814, the second article was: 

To consider the propriety of petitioning the legislature of this Com- 
monwealth to adopt such Constitutional Measures, as to them shall seem 
necessary relative to the oppressive operation of the late embargo law of 
the United States, as well as to ensure for the people of this Common- 
wealth their Rights as Citizens and as a State, or act anything relating 
thereto. 

At the meeting a committee, consisting of Eli Stearns, 
Moses Smith, Jonathan Wilder, Jonas Lane and Doctor 



270 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Samuel Manning, were chosen, and the same day their re- 
port, which follows, was accepted : 

The Committee appointed by the Town at the meeting held this day, 
for the purpose of Considering the second article in the Warrant, have 
attended to that subject and report that considering the present session of 
the General Court is near closing, and also the small glimmering prospect 
that a peace may take place, and the oppressive restrictions on commerce 
be removed : We therefore recommend to the Town to refer the further 
consideration of the Article to the first Monday in May next at 3 O'Clock 
in the afternoon. 

The subject was not again agitated. During the sum- 
mer the depredations of the British navy along the coast 
created great alarm throughout New England. When, on 
September i, 1814, the force of Sir John Sherbrook cap- 
tured Castine, fears of an attack upon Boston were awak- 
ened, and a proclamation was issued convening the legis- 
lature. Governor Strong also, in a general order dated 
September 6, called upon the militia to hold themselves in 
readiness to march at a moment's notice, and summoned 
the artillery and several light-infantry companies to report 
at Boston for immediate service. The appearance of the 
hostile fleet off Gloucester and Cape Cod, exacting heavy 
ransom from various towns, kept the public excitement at 
fever heat. Extensive earth-works were thrown up upon 
Noddle's Island and at South Boston, by volunteer work- 
ing parties of the inhabitants of the city and adjoining 
towns. Benjamin Apthorp Gould, a native of Lancaster, 
was at that date master of the Boston Latin School, and 
one day led his flock of boys to be ferried over and aid in 
the work. More than fifty militia companies were en- 
camped about the city before the end of the month. 
Among the first to arrive were the Light Artillery and a 
Light Infantry Company of Lancaster. The cannon and 
other military property of the state in this town were then 
kept at the North Village in a structure the origin of which 
is given in the orders of council, June 12, 1801 : 

One hundred and twenty dollars in favor of Captain Jacob 

Fisher commander of a Company of Artillery in the Town of Lancaster, 



THE WAR OF 1812. 



271 



in full for erecting a gun house for the depositing their field pieces and 
other military apparatus therein agreeably to the Resolves of the General 
Court. 

This artillery company was commanded by Captain 
John Lyon, who, on Sunday, September 14, 1814, after a 
service at the church, led it to Cambridge. The tradition 
is that he returned to his home before the next morning. 
Certainly his official duties speedily devolved upon another. 
Several of the privates were temporary substitutes procured 
by those who were unable or unwilling to do duty as 
soldiers. The list of those who actually served for two 
months follows : 

Roll of detached Company of Artillery of Captain Silas Parker from 
Laticaster a7id vicinity in Lietit. Col. Edward^s Reg^. in service at 
Boston, from Sept. %th to Nov. s'^', 18 14. 

Silas Parker, Captain. John Taylor, Lieut. Abraham Mallard, Lieut* 
Sergeants : Abijah Brown, 

Nathaniel Thayer. 
Privates Edward Brown, 

Thomas Safford, 

Samuel Damon, 

Jonathan Osgood, 

Titus Wilder, 

Nathaniel Gould, 

Josias Johnston, 

Reuben Blood, 

Samuel Churchill, 

William McLalen, 

Ephraim Walden, 



Hannibal Laugh ton, Artemas H. Brown, 



Israel Haskell, 
Benjamin S. Rice, 
Calvin Wheeler, 
Prosper Randall, 
Alvin Randall, 
Ebenezer Wilder, 
Robert Hewson, 
John Lynn, 
Ebenezer Taylor, 
George Phelps. 



Gardner Maynard, 
Apollus Osgood, 
Thomas Phelps, 
Asa Goddard, 
Samuel Mepee, 
Odel Brown, 
Henry Houghton, 
Liberty B. Moses, 
John Lynch, 
Ephraim C. Fisher, 
Phinehas Sawyer, 

The infantry company, having been ordered out through 
some misunderstanding, returned after an absence of less 
than a week. It was commanded by Captain Ezra Sawyer, 
but no roll of its men has been found. 

Nathan Puffer served during the war as an artificer in 
the United States artillery. Among the death records of 
the town is the name of Henry Moore, "killed in a battle 
with British troops and Indians at Brownstown, August [4] 
1812 ;" and Josiah Rugg, "in the army," died of fever, 
aged twenty-nine, November 22, 1813. Two sons of 



272 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

General John Whiting, who attained distinction in their 
country's service, won their first miHtary honors in the 
campaigns of 1812-1814. Henry Whiting was born in 
Lancaster, 1788, and died at St. Louis, September 16, 
1 85 1. His army record is as follows : 

Cornet Light Dragoons 20 Oct. 1808; second-lieutenant Sept. 1809; 
first-lieutenant, 20 Aug. 181 1 ; aid to Brigadier-General Boyd; brevet cap- 
tain, 17 March 1814, for meritorious service ; transferred to Fifth Infantry, 
17 May, 1815; captain, 3 March, 1817; transferred to First Artillery, i 
June, 1821 ; brevet major, 17 March, 1824, for ten years faithful service; 
brevet lieutenant-colonel, 30 June, 1834, for faithful and meritorious service ; 
major, quartermaster, 23 Feb., 1835 ; lieutenant-colonel, deputy quarter- 
master-general, 7 July, 1838; colonel, assistant quartermaster-general, 21 
April, 1846; brevet brigadier-general, 23 Feb. 1847, for gallant and meri- 
torious conduct at the battle of Buena Vista. 

Fabius, a younger brother of Henry — born 1792, died 
May 16, 1842 — has the following record : 

Second-Lieutenant Artillerists, 10 Feb., 1812 ; in First Artillery March, 
1812; first-lieutenant 20 June, 1813; transferred to Corps Artillery, 12 
May, 1814; captain, 10 Sept., 1819; transferred to First Artillery, i June, 
1821 ; brevet major, 10 Sept., 1829, for ten years faithful service in one 
grade. 

Levi Whiting — son of Timothy, and cousin of Henry 
and Fabius — born in Lancaster, 1790, also won honorable 
rank in the regular army : 

Second-lieutenant Artillerists, 10 Feby. 1812, in First Artillery, March 
1812; transferred to Corps Artillery, 12 May, 1814; first-lieutenant, 14 
June 1814; transferred to Fourth Artillery, i June, 1821 ; captain, 22 May, 
1822; brevet major, 21 May, 1832, for ten years faithful service in one 
grade; major First Artillery, 19 March, 1842; lieutenant-colonel i April, 
1850. Died 3 August, 1852. 

Other men of Lancaster, whose names are undiscovered, 
doubtless served either in army or navy. The brief, un- 
popular war ended in a treaty that did not pretend to adjust 
the grievances that caused it, and neither nation has cause 
to remember it with pride, save for the valor shown in the 
desperate contests upon the ocean and lakes. The procla- 
mation of peace was received with universal joy. Soon 



LANCASTER'S AUGUSTAN AGE. 273 

emigration began its westward march ; manufactures, trans- 
planted from France, England ancJ Germany to the river- 
sides of New England, showed healthy and vigorous 
growth ; and prosperity made bright the faces of farmer, 
merchant and mechanic. 

Most nations point with pride to some epoch in their 
growth as the Augustan age of their history. So not infre- 
quently a town may boast, with sighs for subsequent de- 
cadence, an era when some intellectual coterie, some con- 
currence of choice spirits elevated the average tone of 
thought, and stirred the neighborhood to loftier aims and a 
nobler social life ; a period when business activity sought 
the honorable acquisition of the means of comfortable liv- 
ing, and was not, as now, a hurried, pauseless race for the 
dazzling prizes in a lottery ; when personal enterprise was 
not synonymous with selfish greed, and hospitality had not 
become offensive with ostentatious display. The golden 
age of Lancaster shone in the first third of the present 
century. Though not characterized by restless haste, it 
was nevertheless a busy era. Robert Stephenson had not 
yet harnessed steam to the wheels of commerce, but a per- 
petual procession of heavily laden wagons drawn by horses 
wore deep ruts in the highways that traversed the town from 
west to east, bearing freights of countiy produce to the city 
markets and returning with assorted merchandise to stock 
the village stores. These wagons, numbering about forty 
per day, Sunday inclusive, averaged fully a ton of freight 
each. Coaches filled with travellers, drawn by four or six 
horses, daily dashed into town, halted at the central inn 
long enough to change the wheelers, exchange the mail 
and pick up or set down a passenger or two, and then 
dashed out of town again. The incoming of the " mail 
stage" was the most important daily episode in village life. 
As the hour of its arrival drew near, a motley group of 
young and old gathered about the store in which the post- 
ofiice was kept — the majority not so much because of any 



274 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

expectation of private letters, but to stare curiously at the 
passengers and get an item of gossip from the city. 

Until A. D. 1800, Lancaster was the terminus of the 
"Boston, Concord and Lancaster mail line," and Jonathan 
Whitney, its proprietor, sent the mail and chance passengers 
hence to Leominster and beyond by special conveyance. 
Not many years later the mail route was extended and 
made daily. The fare from Lancaster to Boston was two 
dollars, and each passenger was allowed fourteen pounds 
of baggage free. Taverns abounded, sometimes number- 
ing one to the mile along the more frequented highways, 
and they were not too many for the hungry and thirsty 
wayfarers. Nightly there congregated in each bar-room 
a jolly company, and, in the cold season, around the blaz- 
ing fire of logs that roared and crackled in the wide- 
throated chimney, many a merry catch was sung, many a 
tough yarn spun, many a laughter-provoking joke cracked. 
In the red coals upon the hearth lay the pokers conven- 
iently hot for the brewing of flip, and the toddy stick beat 
continual tattoo upon the tumblers' bottoms. A grizzled 
revolutionary soldier often sat in the chimney corner — 
some veteran like William Deputron or Jacob Zwears, 
always ready to "fight his battles o'er," or accept a treat. 
Against his name upon the slate hanging behind the bar 
usually grew a lengthening score rarely wiped out ; but for 
what he had been and done and suffered in "the days that 
tried men's souls," no one grudged the old soldier the warm 
nook by the fireside, and his maudlin repetitions of camp 
stories were patiently endured. The ^gis or Spy once a 
week opened for the landlord and his guests a glimpse of 
the world's progress. In these diminutive and ill printed 
sheets they by turn could con the "latest news" from 
Europe — two months old — and a "despatch just arrived 
from Washington" — dated a week previous to publishing 
day. 

In the harvest season, husking bees brought together 



LANCASTER'S AUGUSTAN AGE. 275 

young and old, male and female, and, with jovial din, quick 
hands would clean the barn floor of a huge obstructive 
mound of corn ; then refreshed with unhmited pumpkin 
pie and sweet cider, every Jack would find his Jill, and 
responsive to the summons of some Fiddler John, the rustic 
ball began, and joyous activity made amends for any lack 
of cultured grace. Now and then a "raising" brought out 
all the stout arms of the town to help in the setting up of a 
new roof-tree, where the common thirst excited by much 
hallooing and emulative lifting of heavy timber, was sated 
with a compound fabricated with molasses, gin, and a 
modicum of water, known as black-strap. 

But an auction by administrator or sheriff was an event 
of excelling interest in the community, for attendance at 
which all ordinary duties were made to give way, and even 
bar-rooms were deserted. At a public vendue, better than 
at all other assemblages, were to be studied the quainter 
specimens of Lancastrian eccentricity. There, rough dia- 
monds jostling together threw out scintillations of rude, 
sparkHng wit. Thither came the "deacon's one horse 
shay," nearly ripe for its logical catastrophe, drawn by a 
worthy descendant of that veritable quadruped which, un- 
der the name of Rozinante, the genius of Cervantes has 
immortalized. There might be seen every manner of 
wheeled vehicle that had been invented in America before 
A. D. 1800, in every stage of picturesque dilapidation. 
Every fashion of dress known of Yankeedom had there its 
votary. The 'squire and the minister, with pig-tail queues 
tied with black ribbon, black breeches, silk stockings and 
glittering paste buckles at the instep of their low shoes, 
there took snuft' with other clean-shaven gentlemen of the 
old school, who wore their long hair clubbed, sported 
ruffled shirt fronts and Hessian boots with tassels pendent 
from the tops, and carried silver-headed canes. Yeo- 
men, in leather breeches and coats made of a coarse 
satinet that had been home-spun, home-woven and home- 



276 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

dyed, chaffered with villagers clad in cassimere pantaloons, 
brass buttoned, blue broadcloth coats with swallow tails, 
and buff vests. Individualism had not then been crushed 
out by tyranny of fashion in dress, the dictation of social 
arbiters, or the averaging processes of compulsory educa- 
tion ; and queer folk were not as now segregated for show 
in cheap museums or hidden in lunatic asylums and hospi- 
tals, but walked about among their kin unabashed. Jovial- 
ity reigned over the scene, and warming pans, tall clocks, 
brass andirons, flag-bottomed chairs, spinning wheels and 
blue crockery were knocked down to the dilator}^ bidders, 
at prices which no sane modern auctioneer would deign to 
accept as a first bid lor such aesthetic heirlooms. 

The mechanics of the town were widely known for their 
versatility and superior workmanship. People came from 
long distances to the whitesmith, Gowen B. Newman, for 
his conscientious work, and some of his tools even now 
remain to testify to his skill. Tanners, fullers and hatters 
plied their handicrafts, and every little village had its black- 
smith, wheelwright, cobbler and cooper. Here and there 
would be found some ideal mechanical genius, a genuine 
Yankee jack-at-all-trades, like John Bigelow who played 
the violin in the choir on Sundays, and on week days de- 
veloped such a knack for successfully tinkering refractory 
clocks and watches that he quite spoiled the business of the 
regular watch repairer. Major Jacob Fisher, and finally 
found his proper career at the head of a noted Boston firm 
of jewellers. 

The story of the obscure shoemaker who made slippers 
for Parisian belles, deserves telling for its moral if nothing 
more. On a cross-road in the southern part of Bolton 
stood a humble cottage with a little unpainted shop near 
by, wherein lived and worked a Quaker cordwainer, by 
name Holder. He was no common cobbler. The sur- 
passing excellence of his work gained the attention of the 
wealthier ladies of Lancaster and vicinity, and soon they 



LANCASTER'S AUGUSTAN AGE. 277 

would wear no shoes but those of his make. When Cap- 
tain Cleveland went to Havana as vice consul, Mrs. Cleve- 
land left the measure of her foot with Friend Holder, and 
every year packages of shoes went from his little shop to 
her, and certain Cuban friends of hers. While S. V. S. 
Wilder resided in Paris, Mrs. Wilder periodically sent 
orders to the Qiiaker expert ; and not for herself alone, 
since several of her acquaintances, ambitious of being as 
well shod as their American friend, found no readier way 
than to become patrons of the rustic shoemaker thousands 
of miles distant, in a Bolton byway ; and his handiwork 
often crossed the ocean to shame the skill of the Parisian 
Crispins. 

To become a master carpenter in those days required a 
long apprenticeship, for everything that entered into the 
construction and fitting of a house for occupancy was 
laboriously fashioned from the rough lumber by hand. Of 
thoroughly educated and honest builders Lancaster had a 
goodly row, as the carpentry of certain old mansions can 
yet attest. For many years Eli Stearns stood at the head 
of these workers in wood. The Sprague house is perhaps 
the best example of his workmanship. When the Brick 
church was erected in 1816, he was chosen chairman of 
the building committee, being then sixty years of age ; and 
it is related that the workmen upon that edifice soon found 
that there was little use in trying to conceal any inferior 
work from his vigilant eye. 

Game and fish were not only abundant, but some ani- 
mals now rare anywhere, then haunted the wilder recesses 
of the extensive forests on the borders of the larger ponds. 
Now and then a deer or an otter was seen ; raccoons were 
common, and the lynx prowled about on his murderous 
errands. There still survived a few of that race of men 
now almost extinct in the older states, who possessed an 
instinct for hunting and trapping. They were not capari- 
soned with the outfit now deemed almost essential ; they 



278 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

carried neither double-barreled shot-gun nor breech-loader, 
nor split bamboo rod with invisible line and artificial bait. 
Their weapons were a flint-lock smooth-bore, home-wrought 
powder-horn and shot-pouch, home-made flax fishing lines, 
and traps fashioned by the owner. With an intelligence 
always alert, they had also an inborn faculty for acquiring 
an intimacy with the occult habits of beast and bird and 
fish, such as insures success in their pursuit; and their 
habits of observation were joined to such quickness of 
vision and hearing that if fortune had so directed they 
might have become famous naturalists. 

Types of the better class of yeomany were common ; 
men who daily delved with their own hands in all the 
arduous duties of the farm ; legitimate sons of the soil, but 
no groundlings in the political or social theatre. As early 
in spring as the retreating frost left the fields mellow, they 
were seen barefoot, with trousers rolled to the knees, 
behind their oxen in the furrow ; and all the months of 
summer and autumn their toilsome lives were a practical 
oration upon the dignity of labor. They were diligent 
readers, or students rather, of the few choice books attain- 
able ; thought much about the various problems of human 
life, and showed abundance of hard common sense in dis- 
cussing the political or social questions of the period with 
their neighbors or the minister. At town-meeting often 
one of them, with shrewd, Socratic argument, would prick 
the bubble scheme of a demagogue, or pluck the palm of 
forensic victory from the 'squire himself. 

From farming to the calculus seems a long step ; but a 
majority of the farmers of the day had implicit faith in 
lunar influence upon most mundane matters, from the boil- 
ing of pork in the pot to the success of important enter- 
prises ; and the almanac took rank next to the Bible in the 
frequency with which its counsels were sought. The 
phases of the moon may almost be said to have governed 
the sowing of seed and the gathering of harvest. A local 



LANCASTER'S AUGUSTAN AGE. ■ 279 



almanac-maker even was not wanting. Asa Houghton 
began publishing astronomical calculations about 1796, 
and for twenty years at least "The Gentlemen's and Ladies' 
Diary and Almanac " had an extended patronage. Hough- 
ton, in his annual address to the public, sometimes indulged 
in somewhat stilted rhetoric about the "awfully sublime 
ideas" inspired in the almanac-maker by "the study of that 
Divine and Heavenly Science, Astronomy ;" but his math- 
ematical deductions seem to have been sufficiently accurate, 
and his pages of miscellany of fully average interest and 
usefulness. A rival almanac was published for a few 
years in Harvard. 

It was many years later that the use of lead or iron pipe 
for conducting water into dwellings became common here ; 
but two acqueduct companies, one incorporated as early as 
1797, utilized the famous springs of Quasaponikin and 
George Hills, bringing water to the inhabitants of the 
Neck and the village of New Boston in bored logs, speci- 
mens of which in perfect preservation occasionally even 
yet come to the surface. 

Sectarian differences existed, but had not engendered 
bitterness in discussion, nor lessened the general harmony 
of social relations. There was but one meeting-house, one 
religious society ; and the deservedly revered pastor, Na- 
thaniel Thayer, was the prominent central figure of the 
town — its very centre of gravity. Nor was he prized by 
the community only as the competent public teacher of 
divine truth, and sought for as a benignant presence to 
bless occasions of rejoicing and to comfort in great sorrow. 
The prayer from his lips was the never-failing prelude to 
business at the town-meeting. The young bashfully, the 
old unreservedly confided their hopes, soul experiences, and 
troubles to him, assured of hearty sympathy and wise 
counsel. He was the repository of family secrets ; the 
composer of neighborhood disputes ; the ultimate referee 
in mooted points of taste and opinion ; the universal arbiter. 



28o ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Though hedged about with such native dignity as would 
become a prince, yet he was beloved of children, and his 
affability knew no difference between those who sat exalted 
in the choice pews and the humblest in the congregation. 
Before five o'clock in the summer mornings he could be 
seen tilling his own garden, and in the after part of the 
day he rode over his parish, stopping with every one he 
met for greeting and kindly inquiry. 

To this era belongs the honor of founding the Latin 
Grammar School, long known as the Lancaster Academy. 
Captain Richard J. Cleveland and his accomplished wife, 
anxious about the education of their own sons, proposed 
its establishment, contributed liberally to its support, and 
at the recommendation of their friend. President Kirkland 
of Harvard College, secured the services of Jared Sparks 
as its instructor, in 1815. The experiment proved full of 
promise, as the following advertisement from the Colum- 
bian Centinel of April 26, 1817, gives evidence : 

LANCASTER SCHOOL. 

The Latin Grammar School in Lancaster will commence on the 22*1 
May next, on an improved plan. A commodious house is erecting for the 
purpose, and an approved instructor is provided. Tuition is five dollars 
a C[uarter, and board may be had in respectable families near the school, 
at two dollars a week, including washing, fire, &c. Lancaster is a pleas- 
ant and healthy town, 34 miles from Boston, and combines as many 
advantages for a school of this description as perhaps any town in the 
country. A stage runs between this town and Boston every day. It is 
believed that parents designing to fit their sons for college or for active life 
in any employment, will find this school perfectly adapted to their wishes. 
For further particulars inquiry may be made of Rev. PRESIDENT KIRK- 
LAND, or of Mr. J. SPARKS Tutor at Cambridge, or of Dr. JACKSON, 
Summer Street, Boston. 

This edifice of 1817 was a small, low walled, square 
structure of wood, painted red, with a hipped roof. In it 
the late George B. Emerson, LL. D., began his career as 
a teacher. The residence of the Clevelands was near by, 
a home rich in music, good books and pure taste. Mrs. 
Dorcas Hiller Cleveland would have been a queen in 



LANCASTER'S AUGUSTAN AGE. 281 

society wherever fortune had placed her ; but she was 
much more than this. Although gifted with personal grace 
and beauty, educated in all the useful as well as ornamen- 
tal accomplishments of a gentlewoman, and endowed with 
rare intellectual powers, the few living who knew and loved 
her remember best her moral attributes. She wrote papers 
upon religious topics which were considered admirable in 
tone and thought. She had given much study to the sub- 
ject of female education, and contributed a series of essays 
to the Advertiser, which make us regret that her ideas upon 
this topic, which she was so competent to handle, were not 
elaborated for preservation in more permanent form. But 
the subtle influence of her opinions was doubtless far reach- 
ing in beneficent results, for in the genial domestic circle 
over which she presided, were often welcomed those schol- 
arly young men who soon after laid the foundations of our 
present common-school system. While enjoying the charm- 
ing hospitality of host and hostess, they heard discussed 
the writings of Pestalozzi and the theories of Joseph Lan- 
caster ; and there they formulated those advanced opinions 
respecting the teacher's mission and the pupil's needs upon 
which they subsequently organized the educational institu- 
tions of this commonwealth. 

To Warren Colburn, Jared Sparks, George B. Emerson, 
Solomon P. Miles and James G. Carter, who in the most 
enthusiastic period of their life's work, sat at the hospitable 
board of the Clevelands and debated about the natural 
method of developing the reasoning powers in children, is 
due the honor of originating in Massachusetts the normal 
and graded school system, as much as to Horace Mann, 
who has won the chief renown. And today, studying 
moral and social results, it may well be doubted whether 
much of the gradual departure from their original, simple 
scheme of education, has not been in effect unfortunate. 

At the beginning of the century common cotton cloth of 
English make was retailed at about thirty-three cents per 
19 



282 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

yard, and there were but two or three small cotton factories 
in New England. By the close of the war the same grade 
of cloth had more than doubled in price, and over fifty 
manufactories of textile fabrics had been organized in 
Massachusetts alone. The enterprise of a Frenchman had 
given promise of adding greatly to the material prosperity 
of Lancaster. In 1809, a dapper, bald-headed man, wear- 
ing a queue and carrying a gold-headed cane, appeared in 
town, investigating the merits of its various water-power 
privileges. Soon it was known that David Poignand, a 
native of the island of Jersey, and his son-in-law, Samuel 
Plant, an Englishman by birth, had purchased the site of 
the Prescott mill in the south part of the town ; and there 
they set up a cotton factory, one of the earliest successfully 
operated in the state. In recognition of the value, and 
difficulties of establishing, a new industry, Poignand & 
Plant's mill was temporarily exempted from local taxation. 
In peaceful later years this enterprise attained great pros- 
perity. King Cotton had begun his long and arbitrary 
reign in America, The war of 181 2 so stimulated manu- 
factures that when peace again opened the market for 
cheap foreign merchandise, a protective tariff became a 
patriotic necessity. The revolution of 1775 ensured the 
United States political freedom ; the war of 181 2 was the 
cradle of her industrial independence. 



WAR WITH ALGIERS. 

Hardly had the treaty of Ghent been consummated 
when the United States sent Commodore Stephen Decatur, 
with a powerful naval force, to visit Algiers with retributive 
justice for its insolent violations of neutrality during the war 
with England, and its piratical depredations upon American 
commerce. Accompanying Decatur, whom he admirably 
seconded by his diplomatic skill and personal daring in 
dealing with the barbarous court of Algiers, to which he 



THE WAR WITH ALGIERS. 283 

was credited as consul general and chief commissioner, 
was William Shaler, for some years a citizen of Lancaster. 
In the year 1800, Captain Richard J. Cleveland and Wil- 
liam Shaler met for the first time at the Island of Mauritius, 
being both young and akin in ambitious energy and manly 
worth. This casual meeting upon a foreign strand devel- 
oped into commercial partnership, and ripened into a friend- 
ship that closed only with their lives. Mr. Shaler visited 
Captain Cleveland at his Lancaster home, and, charmed 
with the loveliness of the Nashua valley, purchased a house 
near his friend, in which, being a confirmed bachelor, he 
installed a widowed sister, with her children, about 1820. 
He was rich in all those personal gifts that mark the nat- 
ural rulers of men ; a man whom those who could boast 
his friendship used to recall as the peer in social and phys- 
ical graces of Daniel Webster in the fulness of his man- 
hood. One who saw the first coming of this stately gen- 
tleman into the assemblage awaiting the opening of the 
mail at the post-office one day, was wont to describe the 
tableau thus: "Why, they opened right and left, and 
shrunk out of his way as though a desert lion had walked 
in upon them." 

Upon a wall of the English church in the Moorish cap- 
ital has been placed a memorial tablet in honor of "Mr 
William Shaler Consul-General of the United States, who 
during all the troublous times preceding and subsequent to 
Lord Exmouth's operations, when the British consul was 
in chains, and when he and his family were subsequently 
expelled by the Dey, rendered most eminent service to 
them and to the British nation." In October, 1823, the 
Kabyles in the mountains revolted, and Hussein Pasha 
ordered that any and all members of that tribe should be 
seized, wherever found, and dragged to slavery or a dun- 
geon. It so happened that many of them, the race being 
esteemed for their cleanliness and fidelity, were the domes- 
tic servants of the foreign ambassadors. The emissaries 



284 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

of the Dey, contemptuous of all protests, bore away their 
victims from the consular residences of other nations, but 
when they came to the American consulate they encoun- 
tered upon its threshold, standing under the stars and 
stripes, sword in hand, the stalwart consul himself; and 
as he told them that they should take his servants from the 
protection of that flag only by passing over his body, the 
look of stern resolution in his grey eye spoke more forcibly 
than words even. The scowling barbarians quailed, and 
finally withdrew, foiled of their prey. William Shaler, 
returning from Africa to Lancaster, published an octavo 
volume, entitled "Sketches of Algiers," which was favor- 
ably received. He had deserved so well of his country 
that, although a thorough whig in political faith, he was in 
1829 selected by Andrew Jackson for the post of consul at 
Havana, then, with the exception of Liverpool, the most 
remunerative diplomatic position in the president's gift. 
The United States had hitherto been represented in Cuba 
only by a commercial agent, and to gain Shaler's accept- 
ance, this office was raised to the rank of that held by him 
at Algiers. 

Before leaving Lancaster he purchased the Cleveland 
estate, and Captain and Mrs. Cleveland accompanied him 
to Cuba. In the spring of 1833, Havana was visited by a 
fearful epidemic. The cholera in a single day numbered 
five hundred victims. About five o'clock one evening, 
William Shaler came in from the street and took to his bed. 
At seven the next morning he was dead. 




GENL FRANCIS WASHBURN. 



VII. 

THE REBELLION. 

1861-1865. 



THE constitution of the United States, as ratified in 1787, 
was a compromise. Of the patriotic statesmen who 
framed it, many signed their assent with misgiving, and 
even with protest. Some, esteeming it too democratic, 
predicted the dismemberment of the confederation, sooner 
or later, because of the lack of a sufficiently strong central 
power. Others were disturbed by forebodings of mon- 
archial possibilities, and insisted that by its provisions the 
sovereign states were called upon to surrender too much to 
congress and the executive. A phrase or two of elastic 
significance, admitted for the purpose of harmonizing local 
prejudices at the time, became later a fertile source of acri- 
monious debate. The bitterest apple of discord was the 
provision which protected property in human beings, at the 
same time recognizing these so called chattels as three- 
fifths human, and allotting to the proprietors of them in 
several states a proportionate political representation in 
national councils. This sanctioning of sectional and aris- 
tocratic privilege in a government claiming to be based 
upon the principle of natural democratic equality, at once 
gave birth to an "irrepressible conflict" between North and 
South — oligarchist and republican. From the outset this 
antagonism was, by the wise, foretold to be inevitable. It 
began with the first congress and grew more fierce and 
ungovernable year by year. Washington, himself a slave- 
holder, in prophetic spirit wrote to a friend : "I can clearly 
foresee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can per- 



286 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

petuate the existence of our Union, by consolidating it in a 
common bond of principle." Disruption, often threatened, 
was long evaded by concession and subterfuge ; but the 
insolence and usurpations of the privileged oligarchists 
finally culminated in open rebellion. Beaten at the ballot- 
box, they appealed to the sword. That appeal resulted in 
emancipation, radical amendment of the constitution, and 
— logically consequent upon the political and military vic- 
tory of free labor — a revolution in the moral sentiment of 
the nation, even yet not fully consummate. A brief sketch 
of the part taken by Lancaster in this struggle for national 
integrity, and a roster, reasonably complete and correct, of 
Lancastrians who rallied round the insulted flag, is all that 
is contemplated in the following pages. 

No sooner was it known throughout the nation that 
Abraham Lincoln had been constitutionally elected Presi- 
dent, than the " political hacks and bar-room bullies," who 
led, or seemed to lead, public sentiment in the states south 
of Mason and Dixon's line, plied all their arts and energies 
to work destruction to the government which Southern 
policy had largely controlled, until that day, during three- 
fourths of a century. The North, slow to wrath, remained 
for a time almost apathetic, scornfully believing the boast- 
ful threats and military preparations of the southern "fire 
eaters" to be "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." 
The cannon of Sumter proclaimed the audacity of the con- 
spirators and patriotism awoke to the imminent danger. 
Treason, sagaciously planned and boldly led, efficiently 
armed and equipped at the nation's cost, was already on 
the march to the capital, and must be met. The free states 
were all unready for the encounter. Massachusetts was 
almost singular in possessing a militia organized and capa- 
ble of speedy mobilization. On Monda}^ April 15, 1861, 
the President called for seventy-five thousand volunteers to 
serve for three months. Four days later, on the anniver- 
sary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Massa- 



THE REBELLION. 287 



chusetts Sixth Regiment shed the first blood of the war in 
the streets of Baltimore. It was the first volunteer military 
organization to reach the Capital, already in great peril. 
In this regiment was one soldier of Lancaster, Henry 
Jackson Parker. The bloody outbreak of a secessionist 
mob in Baltimore, soon known in every village, intensified 
the previous excitement. The bitterness of barbarous war 
had begun. Monday evening, April 22, a mass-meeting 
of the citizens of Lancaster, at the town hall, considered 
the grave dangers threatening the foundations of the re- 
public. Dr. J. L. S. Thompson was chairman of the 
meeting, and Henry C. Kimball, A. M., secretary. The 
patriotic enthusiasm of the assemblage did not need to be 
kindled with flaming oratory. Earnest feeling broke forth 
in impassioned speech, and many lips became unwontedly 
eloquent under the inspiration of the occasion. It was 
determined to call a legal meeting of the town at the ear- 
liest day possible, and Jacob Fisher and Charles L. 
Wilder were appointed a committee to report to such town- 
meeting what action in the premises they might deem 
necessary or desirable, Woodbury Whittemore and Chris- 
topher A. Pollard were appointed a committee to canvass 
the town for volunteers to a company to be raised for the 
defence of the Union. During the evening thirty names 
were enrolled. It was also resolved to organize a company 
of " home guards." Suitable resolutions were oftered by 
Honorable Francis B. Fay, and unanimously adopted by a 
rising vote amid " tumultuous applause." 

The warrant calling a town-meeting, April 29, 1861, 
contained these articles : 

.... 2. To see what action the Town will take in reference to the 
present state of the country, and act thereon. 

3. To see if the Town will raise money to defray the expenses of an 
outfit for the Lancaster Volunteer Company now being raised to tender 
their services to the Government for the defence of the Union, and for the 
purpose of granting aid to the families of said Volunteers in their absence, 
or act anything relating thereto. 



288 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

On the designated day the voters filled the town hall, 
and elected as presiding officer, Solon Whiting, Esq., 
brother of two noted soldiers whose record has been given 
in previous pages. The committee appointed at the citi- 
zens' meeting of April 22, presented their reports : 

Report of Committee on Business. 

The Committee would recommend that a Committee of seven be chosen 
by the Town to have charge of such funds as may be voted by the Town, 
and that said Committee have full power to expend any portion, or all of 
such appropriation for the above purpose as they may deem expedient. — 
That the Town pay each Volunteer from the time called for until discharged 
thirteen dollars per month, in addition to Government pay, and one dollar 
per day for each day devoted to drill not exceeding thirty days, and not 
less than six hours to be considered a day. — That the Town Treasurer is 
hereby authorized to borrow on behalf of the Town, any sum that may be 
needed for the above purpose not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars, sub- 
ject to the order of the above Committee, and that George W. Howe, 
George Dodge, John M. Washburn, John Bennett, Anthony Lane, J. L. 
S. Thompson and J. Marshall Damon constitute said committee. 
Respectfully submitted, 

C. L. Wilder, 
Jacob Fisher. 

After the reading of the Report the several parts were 
separately considered and the report unanimously adopted, 
Jacob Fisher and C. L. Wilder being added to the com- 
mittee. 

Report of Com7nittee on Otitfit for Volunteers. 

Outfit for forty men : 

2 Shirts apiece; 80 shirts, at 1.50, $120 00 

2 Flannel Waistcoats ; 80 waistcoats, at i .00, 80 00 

40 Woollen Blankets, lined with brown drill, 160 00 

40 Rubber Blankets, at 1.50, 60 00 

80 pr. Socks, at .50, 40 00 

40 light colored soft Felt Hats, at 2.00 80 00 

$540 00 
Henry C. Kimball, for Committee. 

Report of Committee on Volimteer Company. 

Your committee appointed on Monday, the 22d inst., to inquire Into 
the practicability of raising a company of Volunteer Militia, and to take 



THE REBELLION. 289 

such measures for so doing as they may deem necessary, respectfully beg 
leave to offer the following report : That they have canvassed the town 
with a roll of enlistment and the result is that about forty names of steady 
and able bodied young men have been enrolled to serve in the Volunteer 
Militia, with the understanding that they are liable at any moment to be 
called into active service. 

Your committee further report that they have conferred with a similar 
committee of the citizens of the town of Sterling, with a view to unite 
with said town in raising an efficient company for immediate service ; and 
that the committee of the town of Sterling have given assurance that they 
would appear to make all necessary arrangements for a union company at 
or immediately after the present town-meeting. 

Your committee would respectfully recommend that the town of Lan- 
caster raise and equip for active service one-half of said union company, 
and that an armory be obtained free of expense to the state, as a deposi- 
tory of the arms of the Lancaster members of said company. 
All of which is respectfully submitted, by 

W. Whittemore, 
C. A. Pollard, 

for ComiJiittee. 

After listening to the patriotic speeches of several citi- 
zens, upon the importance of making every sacrifice for 
the support of government, the meeting adjourned. 

A legal meeting, June 8, Henry C. Kimball being mod- 
erator, heard a verbal report from the committee of nine, 
and after some discussion, deeming no instructions neces- 
sary, leit the committee to take such further action as they 
might deem advisable. At the town-meeting of November 
14, a report was presented by the committee, showing that 
they had expended for outfit of the volunteers the follow- 
ing sums : 

Paid for drilling — Volunteers, $357 00 

" Drill-master, 20 00 

" E. Ballard, for printing, 2 50 

" Cobb, Whittemore, Burbank, for swords, 60 00 

" Committee of ladies, 31 42 

" George Dodge, for towels, 7 74 

" F. B. Fay, for cash advanced, 250 00 

Balance due at expiration of 90 days, 241 50 

$Q7o 16 



290 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

An independent military company, organized in May, 
1853, well drilled and equipped, existed in Clinton, called 
the Clinton Light Guard, several members of which, and 
all the officers, were natives of Lancaster. This company 
at an early date offered its services to the government, and 
it was understood would be attached to a Worcester county 
regiment, to be commanded by Colonel Charles Devens, 
Jr., and called the Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry. It 
was resolved to use the forty men enlisted in Lancaster as 
the nucleus of a second company to be raised for the same 
regiment. Bolton and Harvard joined Lancaster in its 
formation, and the organization received the name. Fay 
Light Guard, in respect for Honorable Francis Ball Fay. 
At an election of officers and non-commissioned officers, 
Thomas Sherwin, Jr., then principal of the Houghton 
School in Bolton, was chosen captain. The company, re- 
cruited to the number of seventy-eight men, after three 
weeks' diligent drill in Lancaster, went to Camp Scott, at 
Worcester, and was joined to the Fifteenth Massachusetts 
as Company I. For some reason never satisfactorily ex- 
plained to those most deeply interested, Sherwin was denied 
a commission as commander of the company, and Alfred 
F. Walcott of Salem was appointed its captain. If, as then 
believed by the volunteers. Governor Andrew was inspired 
with distrust of Sherwin's fitness for that office by a secret 
communication unfavorable to him, from some citizen of 
Lancaster, the war record of that gallant officer, in connec- 
tion with the Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry, of 
which he became lieutenant-colonel, was a significant re- 
proach for such unwise meddling. His men indignantly 
refused to be sworn into service unless given the officers of 
their choice, in accordance with promises made and the 
general custom of that time. They proved persistent in 
this resolve, and had to be disbanded. Several of the Lan- 
caster volunteers at once enlisted in the Clinton Light 
Infantry, known as Company C, and nearly all sooner or 



THE REBELLION. 29I 



later did their country good service in other organizations. 
The roll of Company I, July 6, 1861, here follows, his sub- 
sequent enlistment, if any known, being noted after each 
soldier's name : 

Captain Thomas Sherwin, Jr. ; teacher. Lieutenant-Colonel Twenty- 
second Mass. Infty. 

1st Lieutenant Woodbury Whittemore ; shoemaker. Twenty-first Mass. 
Infty. 

2d Lieutenant William L. Cobb ; pockelbook-maker. Thirty-fourth Mass. 
Infty. 

3d Lieutenant Levi E. Brigham ; farmer. 

4th " Calvin W. Burbank ; teacher. Not in service. 

1st Sergeant J. Curtis Ayres ; farmer. Fifty-third Mass. Infty. 

2d " Christopher A. Pollard ; jeweller. Not in service. 

3d " Joseph H. Sawyer of Bolton ; clerk. Thirty-sixth Mass. Infty. 

4th " George Lyman Stratton. Not in service. 

1st Corporal George K. Richards; farmer. Sixteenth Mass. Infty. 

2d " Edwin F. Field. Twenty-first Mass. Infty. 

3d " Stephen H. Hunting; hostler. First Heavy Artillery. 

4th " Silas H. Holman of Bolton ; student. Twenty-third Artillery. 

Drummer George E. Burgess of Bolton. Twenty-first Mass. Infty. 

Armorer Francis Henry Fairbank ; pump-maker. Fifteenth Mass. Infty. 

Private Henry O. Adams of Townsend ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Galen P. Atherton of Harvard; farmer. Twenty-first " 

*' Thomas E. Barker of Bolton ; farmer. Twenty-first " 

*' Jacob M. Barnard of Bolton; mechanic. 
" George Albert Barnes ; mechanic. Sixteenth " 

" Willard A. Bowers of Bolton ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 
" Lawrence H. Braman. 

" Henry F. Brigham of Boylston ; miller. Twenty-first " 
Charles H. Burgess of Harvard ; mechanic. Fifty-sixth " 
" James E. Burke; farmer. Twenty-first " 

" Victor Censer of Clinton ; comb-maker. 
" William Cohen of Clinton. Twenty-first " 

" George W. Cutler ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Isaac N. Cutler ; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" Daniel W. Dickinson of Harvard ; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" John W. Dickinson of Harvard ; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" Edward B. Ellis ; mechanic. Served in a Vermont regiment. 
" Warren Ellis ; mechanic. Fifteenth Mass. Infty. 

" Franklin H. Farnsworth : fanner. Fifteenth " 

" Charles B. Flagg ; farmer. Thirty-fourth '* 

" William L. Fox ; sailor. Twenty-first " 



1^1 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Private Charles E. Gould ; mechanic. 

" James M. Gray ; pump-maker. Fifteenth Mass. Infty. 

" Gilbert W. Greene; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" George H. Hardy ; farmer. Twenty-first " 

" Thomas Hastings of Berlin ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Charles R. Haven of Bolton ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 

" Henry H. Hosley; painter. Fifteenth " 

" Albert C. Houghton of Bolton ; mechanic. Sixteenth " 

" Emory H. Houghton; mechanic. 

" W. W. Ingerson of Harvard; farmer. Twenty-first " 

" John James ; farmer. Fifty-third *' 

" William E. Johnson ; mechanic. 

" James Kennedy of Bolton ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 

" Joseph W. Kingsbury ; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" George C. Mann ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Charles H. Maynard of Sterling; mechanic. Thirty-fourth " 

" James Montgomery of Harvard ; farmer. Twenty-first " 

" RoUa Nicholas of Bolton ; farmer. Thirteenth " 

" Henry J. Nourse of Marlborough ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Oliver L. Nourse of Bolton ; mechanic. Sixteenth " 

" Luke Ollis ; farmer. Twenty-first " 

" Nelson Pratt of Bolton ; mechanic. Fifteenth '* 

" John Quinn of CHnton ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 

" Thomas W. Reid of Clinton ; mechanic. Fifty-third " 

" Eben W. Richards ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 

" Henry H.Rugg; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" James Ryan ; mechanic. Thirty-fourth " 

" William H. Savage of Harvard ; farmer. Fifteenth " 

" William Schumaker; mechanic. Fourth U. S. Cavalry. 

" Patrick Shanley. 

" Charles H. Sinclair ; mechanic. Twenty-first " 

" Francis E. Smith of Clinton; manufacturer. Fifteenth " 

" Jonas H. Spencer of Clinton; manufacturer. Fifteenth " 

" John B. Stanley of Bolton; mechanic. Fifth U. S. Cavalry. 

" William Stone of Bolton ; student. Nineteenth Mass. Infty. 

" William Thompson ; teamster. Sixteenth " 

" John Whalen of Clinton. 

" Harrison Willard ; farmer. 

" George Willis of Stow; farmer. 

" John S. Williams of Bolton ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

" Oliver M. Wise; store-keeper. Died 1861. 

" Archibald D. Wright of Clinton ; mechanic. Fifteenth " 

Before the close of August, 1861, nearly forty volun- 
teers representing the town were in the debatable land, 



THE REBELLION. 293 



mostly serving in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Twenty-first 
Massachusetts regiments. Amid huzzas and the waving 
of handkerchiefs and silken banners they went forth, sing- 
ing as they marched, their faces flushed with hope, believ- 
ing the Lord on their side and dreaming little of the trials 
before them. Before October ended, four of those in the 
Fifteenth slept their last sleep in graves upon the banks of 
the Potomac ; and their surviving comrades were writing 
home details of the hair-breadth escapes and trying experi- 
ences of their first battle — the crushing defeat of Ball's 
Bluff. These earliest martyrs of Lancaster were George 
Wright Cutler, Willard Raymond Lawrence, James Gard- 
ner Warner and Luther Gerry Turner. The captain of 
the Clinton and Lancaster company, and several of his 
men, were prisoners of war. The first-lieutenant, Andrew 
L. Fuller, had reached home but a few days before, having 
resigned because physically unable to perform military 
duty. He immediately returned to the regiment, bearing 
words of cheer and substantial comforts, and brought 
home a detailed report of the casualties and condition of 
the survivors. The war that to the community had hitherto 
seemed far away — a formless, dark shadow in the horizon 
— became thenceforward a perennially present and defined 
horror. 

The excitement at this period was intense, and military 
enthusiasm took form during November in the organization 
of a company of home guards, which intrenched itself 
behind the formidable nnme of "The Lancaster Independ- 
ent Phalanx." One hundred names were enrolled, of old 
and young, and meetings for drill were held every Monday 
evening at the town hall, each member bringing his own 
arms. Hon. F. B. Fay was the first captain elect, and 
Solon Whiting, Esq., the second in command. Upon their 
declining office. Dr. Reuben Barron was made commander, 
and Lyman Moore lieutenant. On the first of March, 
1862, Thomas B. Warren succeeded Doctor Barron. The 



294 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

platoons of the Phalanx, after the first few meetings, were 
rarely of a length unmanageable in the hall, the older 
members becoming very irregular in attendance. The 
motley outfit and st3le of drill at times called up amusing 
recollections of the annual May Training under the old 
militia law, when the street evolutions of the "Slambangs" 
were the only visible relic of military glory left to inspire 
the rural patriot. At these drill meetings, however, many 
a volunteer, who afterwards did good service in the field, 
received his first lessons in the school of the soldier. 

December 2, 1861, a citizens' meeting, of which G. F. 
Chandler was chairman and J. Prescott Wilder secretary, 
after discussing- the needs of the soldiers in the winter's 
campaigning, chose a committee to ascertain and provide 
for their wants. This committee was organized as follows : 

Miss Mary G. Chandler, Dr. J. L. S. Thompson, 

Mrs. Emily Leigh ton, G. F. Chandler, 

Mrs. Joseph H. Dudley, Spencer R. Merrick, 

Miss Mary T. Humphrey, Horatio D. Humphrey, 

George Dodge. 

The selectmen and town-clerk, after correspondence 
with officers in the Fifteenth and Twenty-first regiments, 
reported that about thirty Lancaster men were in the field, 
many of whom were in need of warmer clothing. The 
committee at once collected by popular subscription the 
sum of one hundred and sixty-six dollars, with which 
under-garments and other articles of apparel were pur- 
chased, and forwarded together with numerous special 
donations. After the town's men were well supplied, a 
surplus remaining was transferred to the Sanitary Commis- 
sion. A list of the articles contributed is preserved : 

20 pairs boots, 15 flannel shirts, 23 pairs mittens, 

30 blankets, 18 pairs drawers, 25 towels, etc. 

. 14 quilts, 51 pairs stockings, 

July 8, 1862, a public meeting, called to plan measures 
for the relief of the sick and wounded, organized by the 



THE REBELLION. 295 



choice of George W. Howe, chairman, and Dr. J, L. S. 
Thompson, secretary. A committee, consisting of Caleb 
T. Symmes, G. F. Chandler and George A. Johnson was 
chosen to solicit contributions of money and hospital sup- 
plies, and the following week reported that they had re- 
ceived three hundred and sixty dollars and seventy-three 
cents, and forwarded to the Sanitary Commission two hun- 
dred dollars in money and the following articles, chiefly 
the handiwork of the women of Lancaster: 

171 sheets, 2 dressing gowns, 12 coats, 

161 pillow-cases, 63 shirts, 4 vests, 

102 towels, 36 pairs drawers, 2 pairs pantaloons, 

49 napkins, 5 pairs slippers, 6 boxes lint, 

17 handkerchiefs, 6 neckties, 

besides quilts, stockings, bandages, bundles of linen, etc. 

The governors of eighteen states having officially ad- 
vised large increase of the army in order to a more vigor- 
ous prosecution of the war. President Lincoln, on the tirst 
of July, 1862, issued a call for three hundred thousand 
three years troops. Under this call seventeen men were 
required of Lancaster. To secure prompt enlistments the 
stimulation of a bounty was thought necessary. At a 
meeting of the people July 14, Reverend Amos E. Law- 
rence, Reverend Milo C. Stebbins, George A. Johnson, 
Calvin W. Burbank and Eli E. Howe were chosen to act 
with the selectmen as a recruiting committee. Supported 
by pledges from gentlemen of means, this committee was 
able to guarantee a bounty of one hundred dollars to each 
volunteer. At the meetings of July 14 and 23, much en- 
thusiasm was awakened, and the fervid appeals of promi- 
nent citizens were rewarded with loud applause, while at 
the successive enlistment of several young men, the assemb- 
lage was almost frantic in its demonstrations of approval. 
In general the persuasive counsels of those, the unselfish- 
ness of whose patriotism was attested by silvered locks or 
personal sacrifice, bore fruit as well as won respect. Occa- 
sionally the ad cafianduvi harangue of some " self-consti- 



296 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

tuted exempt " provoked broad hint that the eloquence of 
service far outshines that of words. Very few, however, 
shirked or attempted to evade their proper share in the 
grave responsibilities of the hour, and the active patriotism 
of the young and stalwart only kept step with the generos- 
ity and self negation of those whom sex, the burden of 
years, or infirmity, or apparent duty, held at home. Those 
enlisted at this date entered the Thirty-fourth Massachu- 
setts Infantry, organizing at Camp Wool. The action of 
the town at a legal meeting July 23, 1862, is thus recorded : 

Voted, that the selectmen be a committee to pay each recruit, when 
sworn into the United States service, the sum of One Hundred Dollars. 

Voted, that recruits at Camp Wool who shall be accepted by the Adju- 
tant General as a part of the quota of seventeen required from this town, 
be paid the sum of one hundred dollars. 

Voted, that the committee chosen at a citizen's meeting be requested 
to act with the selectmen in procuring recruits. 

The following day a citizens' meeting elected George 
W. Howe, Dr. J. L. S. Thompson and Christopher A. 
Pollard a committee to provide for the families of those ab- 
sent as soldiers, and look after the gathering of their crops 
and other farm work in proper season. On August 4, was 
proclaimed a call for three hundred thousand militia to 
serve for nine months, and soon after Lancaster received 
notice that her quota was twenty -one men. August 25, 
1862, action was taken by the town as follows : 

Voted, that the town pay to each volunteer, one hundred dollars, pro- 
vided the full quota (21) tor nine months is furnished. 

Voted, that the above sum be paid whenever said volunteers are mus- 
tered into the United States service. 

Voted, that the selectmen and treasurer be authorized to borrow such 
sums as may be necessary to pay volunteers, and the state aid to families. 

Previous to this date the women of Lancaster had been 
indefatigable in labors for their fellow townsmen absent 
fighting the battles of freedom, and in the name of the 
existincr charitable societies of the two churches, had for- 
warded to them Bibles, money, and several boxes filled 



THE REBELLION. 297 



with blankets, clothing, reading matter, and miscellaneous 
comforts. August 27, 1862, the Soldiers' Relief Associa- 
tion was organized. Its officers were : Mrs. Harriet W. 
Washburn, president ; Miss Mary Anderson, Miss Mary 
Ann Thayer and Miss Mary Whitney, vice-presidents ; 
Miss Elizabeth P. Russell, secretary and treasurer. It 
soon became a branch of the New England section of the 
Sanitary Commission. Its weekly meetings were uniformly 
well attended. From month to month, under its auspices, 
public entertainments of varied character were given in 
furtherance of its Christian aims. A vast amount of benefi- 
cent work of incalculable value was quietly accomplished 
by these true and tender-hearted laborers, neither seeking 
nor reaping any recompense, save the grateful prayers of 
thousands maimed, sick and dying — prayers mostly in- 
audible to human senses, but all recorded above. 

September 10, a citizens' meeting considered the need 
of systematic aid for soldiers and their families, and espe- 
cially for those sick or wounded. It was decided to estab- 
lish a Soldiers' Relief Fund, to be used by a committee 
composed of the selectmen and such others as they might 
select to assist, at their discretion, for the comfort of the 
town's soldiers, and those dependent upon them, when 
found in want or distress. A subscription was opened and 
five hundred dollars were pledged at once. The selectmen 
soon after organized the committee, calling to their aid the 
following citizens : Nathaniel Thayer, Hon. Francis B. 
Fay, George Stratton, Charles L. Wilder, George Cum- 
mings. Rev. M. C. Stebbins, Dr. J. L. S. Thompson, 
Charles J. Wilder. At subsequent weekly meetings the 
fund was increased by the liberality of various contributors 
to the sum of twelve hundred and ninety-one dollars, and, 
by additions of interest and dividends upon investments, to 
sixteen hundred and sixty-six dollars and twenty-seven 
cents, including expenditures. Ultimately the purpose of 
this local relief fund was subserved by state aid, the expen- 
20 



298 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

diture of the town being refunded under established regula- 
tions from the treasury of the commonwealth. Upon the 
treasurer of the committee, George W. Howe, Esq., de- 
volved the care and judicious disbursement of the contri- 
butions, a duty often onerous and perplexing, but cheerfully 
performed without recompense. January 5, 1872, a meet- 
ing of the contributors recorded their thanks for Mr. 
Howe's faithful service, and transferred the balance remain- 
ing in his hands, the sum of eight hundred dollars, to the 
trustees of the Lancaster Charitable Fund. 

At two of the meetings held during September, the 
Reverends Merrill Richardson of Worcester, George Put- 
nam, S. T. D., of Roxbury, and Mr. Edward R. Wash- 
burn of Lancaster, gave addresses noteworthy for their 
patriotic eloquence. Mr. Washburn was at this time en- 
gaged in recruiting for the Fifty-third Massachusetts Infan- 
try, and was successful in enlisting from his neighbors 
enough men to till the town's quota for the nine months' 
service, going himself as their captain. The shorter term 
of enlistment gave popularity to the call of August, and 
several more than the quota demanded went from Lancas- 
ter in this and other nine months' regiments. The vote of 
August 25, only authorizing the payment of bounty to the 
twenty-one required, a special town-meeting October 15, 
1862, voted "to pay a bounty of One Hundred Dollars to 
those who have enlisted and who shall be mustered and 
accepted into the United States service." 

As in quick succession came news from the battlefields of 
New Berne, Shiloh, Fair Oaks, Chantilly, Antietam, Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville and Port Hudson, Lancaster 
knew that her sons were doing their duty, and family after 
family mourned their unreturning brave. 

Under date of October 17, 1863, a call was issued by 
the President for three hundred thousand men for three 
years. Lancaster's quota was established as fourteen. The 
government bounty offered for volunteers was now four 



THE REBELLION. 299 



hundred dollars to veterans and three hundred for recruits. 
At an extra session of the Massachusetts legislature in 
November it was voted to pay an additional bounty of three 
hundred and twenty-five dollars to each man enlisting in 
the state, or, at his option, fifty dollars in hand and twenty 
dollars per month for actual service, over and above the 
legal wages. The citizens of Lancaster, assembled to de- 
vise ways and means for meeting the new demand, Novem- 
ber 23, 1863, voted to seek the aid of popular orators from 
Worcester and Fitchburg to reanimate the somewhat jaded 
enthusiasm, and on December 3, Rev. Merrill Richardson 
spoke to a large audience. The same night a recruiting 
committee of twenty-one was chosen : 

Lieut. William L. Cobb, Jonas Goss, Levi P. Wood, Jr., 

George Cummings, James Childs, Levi Farwell, 

Rev. Milo C. Stebbins, Lieut. John C. Ayres, Barney S. Phelps, 

Hon. Francis B. Fay, Benjamin B. Otis, Sewell Day, 

George F. Chandler, Thomas Laughton, G. C. Colburn, 

Rev. Marcus Ames, Calvin W. Burbank, Charles L. Wilder, 

Charles J. Wilder, Calvin Holman, Samuel Rugg. 

This committee, their energy inspired and sustained by 
the universal determination to avoid a draft, addressed 
themselves to the difficult task assigned them. The com- 
mon laborer now commanded unprecedented wages, and 
skilled mechanics could earn four or five dollars per day, 
while the private soldier was paid thirteen dollars a month, 
besides clothing and rations. It was finally found expedi- 
ent to promise for every accepted recruit a town bounty of 
one hundred dollars in addition to the national and state 
bounties, thus raising the total premium upon enlistment to 
the sum of seven hundred and twenty-five dollars. Again 
the subscription lists were borne from house to house 
throughout the town, and one thousand and twenty dollars 
were pledged by individuals. The fourteen volunteers 
were soon after obtained, and j'oined their brethren in the 
field, most of them being assigned to the Thirty-fourth 
and Thirty -sixth Massachusetts Infantry. 



300 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

On February i, 1864, a draft for five hundred thousand 
men, to serve three years or during the war, was ordered 
to take place on the tenth of March ; but this number in- 
cluded the three hundred thousand called for October 7, 
1863. On the fifteenth of March, 1864, came a call for 
two hundred thousand men, to be raised by volunteering or 
draft ; and on the fourth of July the President summoned 
five hundred thousand more to enlist, for one, two or three 
years, as they might elect. This human avalanche from 
the North soon began its crushing progress southward, 
down the valleys of Georgia and Virginia. 

The town, at its legal meeting April 4, 1864, — 

Voted, that the town pay the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dol- 
lars for each man required to fill the quota [15] of Lancaster under the 
last call of the President. 

Voted, that the Assessors be authorized to abate the poll taxes of nine- 
months men assessed in 1863. 

The legislature had recently established the maximum 
bounty that could be offered by town or city at one hundred 
and twenty-five dollars. On the same day that the above 
votes were passed, at an adjournment of the March meet- 
ing, it was — 

Voted on motion, that the selectmen and treasurer be authorized to 
borrow or appropriate any money in the treasury not otherwise appropri- 
ated, and pay the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars for each 
man under the present or any future call before the first of March, 1865. 

Voted, that they pay the same sum to any enrolled man who shall send 
an alien substitute on any quota between the first of March, 1864, and the 
first of March. 1865 ; provided, that in the opinion of the selectmen such 
substitute shall be good for the quota of the town. 

June 7, 1864, at a special town meeting, of which 
George W. Howe was moderator, it was — 

Voted, that the selectmen be instructed to procure the necessary num- 
ber of men which, in their opinion, may be required to fill the anticipated 
call for more troops, on the best terms possible. 

Voted, that the selectmen and treasurer be authorized to borrow a sum 
not exceeding three thousand dollars, to be used by the selectmen for re- 
cruiting purposes. 



THE REBELLION. 3OI 



October 6, 1864, at a meeting of voters desiring the re- 
election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, the organ- 
ization of a Union Club was perfected. Doctor John L. 
S. Thompson was chosen its president, and twelve vice- 
presidents were elected. Meetings were held on Wednes- 
day and Saturday evenings of each week. The members 
were pledged 

.... to support, sustain and defend the Government as at present ad- 
ministered, to prosecute the war against traitors, and not to relax our efforts 
until treason and rebellion are conquered, the union restored and freedom 
vindicated. 

From time to time speakers were procured by the direc- 
tion of the club to address the public upon the topics of the 
period. October 24, Rev. Merrill Richardson of Worces- 
ter spoke; November 2, Rev. Mr. Fairchild delivered an 
address upon Sherman's campaign ; and November 3, 
Hon. Edwin Bailey of Boston spoke eflectively upon the 
issues of the election pending. 

At a legal meeting June 22, 1864, the action of the 
previous town-meeting was rescinded, and it was — 

Voted, that the selectmen and treasurer be authorized to borrow the 
sum of two thousand dollars for the purpose of refunding the money con- 
tributed by individuals for the purpose of filling the quota of the town 
under the calls for troops made by the President on October 17, 1863, and 
February i, 1864; provided such money shall be put in the hands of the 
recruiting committee for the purpose of procuring more troops. 

The re-enlistment of eleven veterans, who, having 
served their country three years, did not falter but held up 
their hands to be counted again as soldiers for Lancaster 
during the war, greatly assisted in meeting the demands 
upon the town. Three other residents enlisted for the war, 
and, Congress at length having recognized the grave in- 
justice done in refusing to allow enlistments in the navy to 
stand on a par with those in the army, four sailors were 
added to Lancaster's credit. Half a dozen citizens of the 
town joined the regiments sent to Washington for garrison 
duty in July, 1864, to serve one hundred days. These last, 



302 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

however, though exempted from the operation of the draft, 
were not credited to the town's, or the state's, quota. It 
was seen to be hopeless to expect further avoidance of 
conscription. Should the quota not be filled by September 
5, the law made personal service obligatory upon those 
that chanced to be drafted. Until that date a money com- 
mutation of three hundred dollars relieved the conscript 
from military duty save by substitute. Accordingly on 
July 18, 1864, a lot decreed that ten of Lancaster's citizens 
should join the army or buy exemption. Each of the ten 
paid the required fee, and fought by proxy. This was the 
only draft in Lancaster. A few non-residents were hired 
to serve the town, and all national calls upon its patriotism 
were much more than satisfied. 

The first president of the Soldiers' Relief Association 
in Lancaster, who had lost two gallant sons, stricken down 
in the front of battle, sought early in 1865 to be relieved 
from the post she had honored, and Mrs. Mary G. Ware 
was chosen to the office. Mrs. Jane Humphrey became 
vice-president, succeeding Miss Mary Anderson. The 
society despatched its last invoice of hospital stores on May 
10, 1865, but retained its organization until August 30, 
when, having completed the third year of its nobly benefi- 
cent existence, it was reorganized as a branch of the New 
England Freedmen's Aid Society, retaining the old ofl!icers. 
The following summary of the work of the Relief Associ- 
ation is derived from the quarterly reports of its secretary, 
Miss Elizabeth P. Russell, to whose enthusiasm and unre- 
mitting energy much of its efliciency was due : 

Proceeds of ten pablic entertainments, $1,292 37 

Donations from individuals, 217 58 

Obtained by sale of sundry articles, 45 61 

Total cash receipts $i.S5S 36 

Total expenditures for materials, etc., 1,185 3° 

Balance in treasury, transferred to Freedmen's 

Aid Society $370 06 



SOLDIERS' RELIEF ASSOCIATION. 303 

The materials bought — often more than doubled in val- 
ue through the labor expended upon them by the skilful 
needlewomen who, once a week, met for the purpose in the 
ante-rooms of the town hall — were packed in boxes and 
barrels, together with the many special contributions of 
citizens, and promptly forwarded. The Lancaster contri- 
bution of sanitary goods for the benefit of the wounded at, 
Antietam was the first to reach the Boston office. There 
were sent to the Sanitary Commission, forty-seven boxes 
and barrels chiefly laden with clothing, six boxes contain- 
ing wine, jellies, etc., thirty-two barrels of potatoes and 
fruit, and two barrels of reading matter ; to the Christian 
Commission, one box of clothing ; to the Massachusetts 
agent at Washington, one box of hospital goods and cloth- 
ing ; to the Fifty-third Massachusetts Infantry, one box of 
clothing ; to the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry, 
one box of hospital goods ; to Mrs. C. P. Russell at Wash- 
ington, D. C, for distribution, two boxes of hospital goods. 
A schedule of the various articles included in the above 
follows : 

Eye shades, 39 

Compresses, 258 

Bandages, 933 

Boxes of lint, 27 

Fans, 24 
Bundles of old cotton and 

linen, 20 

Reading matter, barrels, 2 

" " bundles, 15 

Potatoes, barrels, 25 

Apples, barrels, • 2 

Dried apple, barrels, 5 

" " packages, 39 

Wine, home-made, bottles, 63 

Cider, bottles, 12 
Jellies and preserves, jars, etc., 38 

Dried currants, packages, 4 

Lemon syrup, bottles, 4 

Blackberry syrup, bottles, 27 

Pickles, bottles, 4 



Pocket handkerchiefs. 


1 144 


Stockings, pairs. 


344 


Shirts — cotton. 


202 


flannel. 


117 


Drawers — cotton. 


228 


flannel, 


295 


Coats, chiefly linen, 


23 


Vests, 


12 


Pantaloons, 


8 


Dressing-gowns, 


25 


Mittens, pairs. 


7 


Neckties, 


13 


Caps — sleeping. 


44 


Slippers and moccasins, pairs. 


188 


Boots and shoes, pairs, 


18 


Housewife bags, needle-books, 




etc.. 


68 


Quilts (160 made by S. R. A.), 


, 170 


Sheets, 


56 


Blankets, 


2 



Pillow-cases, 


112 


Towels, 


178 


Napkins, 
Table-cloth, 


298 

I 


Pillows and cushions, sundry 




kinds, 


271 


Arm slings. 


24 



304 ANNALS OF LANCASTER, 

Condensed milk, cans, 3 

Tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, 

packages, 19 

Farina, arrowroot, corn starch, 
gelatine, sago, tapioca, 
Irish moss, etc., packages, 64 



The generous givers who helped our loyal women-work- 
ers to achieve such remarkable results need not be enumer- 
ated, for the list of them would be but a census of the 
families of Lancaster ; all in unity of spirit bestowing their 
mites or lavish bounties, according to ability. The war 
historian of the commonwealth records the contributions of 
the Lancaster women to the Sanitary Commission as in 
value about three thousand five hundred dollars. This 
certainly, at war prices, was not too liberal an appraisal. 
The lady associates, in continuing their charitable labors 
after the return of peace, had specially in view the mainte- 
nance of a teacher of freedmen. Miss Abigail Jane 
Knight, one of their own circle, a lady well qualified by 
her attainments and heartfelt sympathy for the cause, 
taught for four years under the auspices of the society, at 
Edisto Island, South Carolina. Including the sum which 
it inherited at the start, the society raised and expended in 
support of Miss Knight's school, the sum of two thousand 
three hundred and forty-six dollars and sixty-two cents, 
most of which was derived from series of entertainments, 
embracing concerts, fairs, readings and lectures by home 
and foreign talent, dancing parties, etc. 

Accurately to classify or sum such expenditures of the 
town in its corporate capacity as were strictly chargeable 
to the war, would be difficult, if not impossible. The 
yearly payments to the needy soldiers and their families, 
refunded as "state aid," were given by the state's historian 
as follows : 



I86I 


1862 


1863 


1864 


1865 


$327.02 


$1,839.14 


$2,756.02 


$2,545.00 


$1,550.00 



SOLDIERS' RELIEF ASSOCIATION. 305 

The selectmen's books, however, differ from this, show- 
ing a total of $10,036.62. The total of military expenses 
other than this aid has been stated at $18,719.70 by one 
authority, and at $20,864.06 by another. The latter is 
probably not an exaggerated estimate. 

Upon the executive and financial officers of the town 
during the civil war, novel and perplexing duties devolved, 
and labors for which their unaided strength would have 
been wholly insufficient ; but seconded by the committees 
hereinbefore mentioned, they performed the varied work 
entrusted to them by the confidence of the public, with 
such earnestness and fairness as to receive general com- 
mendation. These officers were : 



Select men . 

1861. James Childs, Jeremiah Moore, Warren Davis. 

1862-3. Jeremiah Moore, Jonathan Buttrick, Spencer R. Merrick. 

1864. Georj^e W. Howe, Jonathan Ikittrick, Spencer R. Merrick. 

1865. Jonathan Buttrick, Spencer R. Merrick, Levi W. Farwell. 



Assessors. 

1861 and 1862. Warren Davis, Solon Whiting, Silas Thurston. 

1863. Warren Davis, Stedman Nourse, Charles Safford. 

1864. Warren Davis, Sewell Day, Jeremiah Moore. 

1865. Stedman Nourse, Sewell Day, Charles J. Wilder. 



Town Clerk. 
J. L. S. Thompson, M. D.. 1861-1865. 

Treasurers. 

1861. John M. Washburn. Died December 26, 1861. 
1862-4. Christopher A. Pollard. Died. 
1865. Solon Wilder. 



3o6 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER OF SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER, 

including natives and residents of the town, and 
those hired for her quota. 

Second Massachusetts Infantry. 

Under the call for five hundred thousand additional 
three years troops, made by President Lincoln, October 17, 
1863, and February i, 1864, several non-resident substi- 
tutes were hired for the town, and received a state bounty 
of three hundred and twenty-five dollars each. Six of 
these are found mustered as recruits for the Veteran Sec- 
ond Massachusetts, then commanded by Colonel William 
Cogswell, attached to the Army of the Cumberland, and 
engaged in the Atlanta campaign. 

Company A. 
John Dupee. aged 36; mustered in, July 2, 1864; transferred from 33 M. 
V. L, June i, 1865; mustered out, July 14, 1865. 

Company G. 
John Mayo, 24; July 2, 1864; deserted August 10, 1864. 

Company I. 
Joseph Clinton, 22; May 7, 1864; mustered out July 14, 1865. 

Unassigned. 
David H. Tracy, 29; July 2, 1864. Never joined regiment. 
George Watson, 32 ; July 2, 1864. " " 

Peter Zahn, 24 ; May 7, 1864. " " 

Fifth Massachusetts Infantry. 9 Months [Militia]. 

This regiment, George H. Pierson, colonel, left Boston 
in transports for New Berne, N. C, October 22, 1862, 
Kinston, Whitehall and Goldsboro are inscribed upon its 
banner. A history of the regiment, by Frank J. Robinson, 
was published in 1879. 

Company E. 
Benjamin F. Wyman, 23; Sept. 16, 1862; mustered out July 2, 1863. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 307 

Coi)2pa)iy I. 

William D. Pierce, 23; Sept. 16, 1862; mustered out July 2, 1863. En- 
listed from Bolton, but born and bred in Lancaster. Brother of 
Frank E. Pierce of 21 M. V. I. 

Eben C. Mann (not a resident of Lancaster until after the close of the 
war) was a corporal in Company B of this regiment. 

Fifth Massachu.setts Infantry, too Days. 

This regiment was stationed at Fort Marshall, in the 
vicinity af Baltimore, Maryland, Colonel George H. Pier- 
son commanding. A bounty of seventy-six dollars sixty- 
six cents was paid each soldier. 

Company E. 

Thomas Augustus Hills, sergeant, 23; July 23, 1S64; mustered out Nov. 

16, 1S64. Credited to Leominster; served previously in Company C, 

53 M. V. I., for Lancaster. 
Adrian T. Nourse, 21 ; July 22, 1864; mustered out Nov. 19, 1864. 
Roscoe H. Nourse, 23: July 22, 1864; mustered out Nov. 16, 1864. 

Served previously in Co. C, 53 M. V. I. Brother of foregoing. 
Frederick Fordyce Nourse, 21 ; July 22, 1864; died at New Brunswick, 

N. J., on liis way home, Sept. 13, 1864. Brother of Frank E. Nourse 

of 51 M. V. I. 
[The three last named soldiers arc credited to Leominster in Mass. Records, 
erroneously.] 

Co j/i patty I. 

Cyrus E. Coburn, 21 ; July ig, 1864; mustered out Nov. 16, 1864. Broth- 
er of George B. Coburn. 34 M. V. I. 

Sumner W. Keyes, 21; July 19, 1864; mustered out Nov. 16, 1864. 
Brother of Stephen A. Keyes, 53 M. V. I. 

Sixth Massachusetts Infantry. 3 Months. 

This regiment was the first sent to Washington from 
Massachusetts, and is noted for its conflict with the Balti- 
more mob, April 19, 1861. Colonel Edward F. Jones, 
commander. 

Coj/tpatiy B. 

Henry Jackson Parker, 25 ; June 19, 1861 ; mustered out Aug. 2, 1861. 
Served subsequently in 33 M. V. I. Resident of Townsend, but 
born and bred in Lancaster. 



3o8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Seventh Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment, under Colonel Darius N. Couch, reached 
Washington July 15, 1861. 

Company B. 
William Harrison Farnsworth, 20; June 15, 1861 ; deserted Sept., 1862, 
at Alexandria, Virginia. 

Ninth Massachusetts Infantry. 

Henry Holton Fuller, M. D., who had been resident of Lancaster for three 
years, was commissioned assistant surgeon of this regiment, July 7, 
1862, having served with it in camp for a time, but declined commis- 
sion. 

Eleventh Massachusetts Infantry. 

Abner Wheeler, 25; June 13, 1861 ; deserted June 23, 1862. This man, 
a teamster, in the Records of Massachusetts Volunteers is credited to 
Lancaster. He may have been a temporary resident here, but does 
not appear in the town\s quota list. 

Fifteenth Unattached Company, Massachusetts 
Infantry. 100 Days, 

Nine companies of one hundred days men were recruit- 
ed for garrison duty in forts on the coast. This company 
was commanded by Captain Isaac A. Jennings. 

Bartholet Fahay, 21; July 28, 1864; mustered out Nov. 15, 1864. Re- 
ceived a bounty of sixty-four dollars sixty-six cents. \^Bartlctt Fay, 
in Mass. Records. '\ 

Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry. 
This regiment, commanded successively by Colonels 
Charles Devens, Jr., George H. Ward, and George C. 
Joslin, left Camp Scott, Worcester, where it had been sta- 
tioned about six weeks, August 8, 1861. It met with 
severe loss in the unfortunate battle of Ball's Bluff, October 
21, 1861 ; was in the battles of Fair Oaks, Savage Station, 
Antietam and Fredericksburg during 1862 ; Chancellors- 
ville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station and Robertson's Tavern 
in 1863 ; the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, etc., 
in 1864. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 309 

Cotnpany A. 

Thomas H. Davidson, 25; July 12, I861 ; discharged for disability April 
25, 1862. He died of consumption shortly after the close of the war. 

Fordyce Horan, 20; Dec. 24, 1861 ; enlisted Nov. 17, 1862, in First 
U. S. Artillery, Co. I ; died insane in hospital at Washington, Nov. 
3, 1864. 

Joseph W. Kingsbury, 18; Aug. i, 1861 ; taken prisoner; discharged for 
disability Nov. 27, 1862. 

Henry T. Taylor, 27; July 12, 1861 ; discharged on account of rheuma- 
tism, April 25, 1862. Died Oct. 18, 1868. 

Company C. 

Nathaniel Alexander, 40 ; Dec. 17, 1S61 ; discharged for disability, Oct. 
IS, 1862. 

Charles H. Balcom, 33; Dec. 14, 1861 ; transferred to Veteran Reserve 
Corps, April 15, 1864. \_Balcoml? and Balam in Mass. Records.] 

Henry Bowman, captain, 26; Aug. i, 1861 ; captured Oct. 21, 1861, at 
Ball's Bluff, Va., and held in Libby Prison, Richmond, as hostage for 
Confederate privateersmen condemned for piracy, he with twelve oth- 
ers having been selected by lot for this purpose, Nov. 12, 1861 ; 
paroled Feb. 22, 1862; exchanged August, 1862; commissioned ma- 
jor 34 M. V. I., Aug. 9, 1862; colonel 36 M. V. 1., Aug. 22, 1862. 
He was a citizen of Clinton, but born and bred in Lancaster. 

George W. Cutler, 22; July 12, 1861 ; shot through the head at Ball's 
Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1861. Brother of next, and of Henry A., 53 M. 
V. I., and Francis B., 35 N. Y. 

Isaac N. Cutler, 20; July 12, 1861 ; severely wounded in left ankle at An- 
tietam, Sept. 17, 1862; discharged for disability, March 20, 1863. 

Francis Henry Fairbanks, 25 ; July 12, 1861 ; discharged on account of 
asthma, April 10, 1862 ; re-enlisted in 34 M. V. I. Brother of Charles 
T., I N. H. Cav. [Mass. Records report Fairbanks killed at Fair 
Oaks.'\ 

Franklin Hawkes Farnsworth, 19; July 12, 1861 ; shot through the body 
and killed at Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862. Brother of John E. and 
George W., 34 M. V. I. 

Andrew L. Fuller, first-lieutenant, 37; Aug. i, 1861 ; resigned Oct. 7, 
1861, on account of feeble health, and died of consumption, Sept. 10, 
1867. He was a manufacturer, of Clinton, but born and bred in Lan- 
caster. 

James M. Gray, 23; July 12, 1861 ; discharged for disability, Feb. 16, 
1863, being lame. [Mass. Records %-A.y Feb. 11.] Brother of Stephen 
W., 34 M. V. I. 

Henry H. Hosley, 18; July 12, 1861 ; enlisted Nov. 12. 1862, in First U. 
S. Artillery, Co. I, known as " Flying Artillery." 



3IO ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Adelbert W. Johnson, 23; July 12, 1861 ; discharged for rheumatism, 
May, 1862; re-enlisted in 53 M. V. L 

Sumner Russell Kilburn, 18; July 12, 1861 ; re-enlisted as veteran, Feb. 
18, 1864. He received two or three wounds in the battle of the Wil- 
derness, May 6, 1864, and died at Fredericksburg, May 16, 1864. 
[Mass. Records say June 10, an error.] 

Solomon Kittredge, 42; Dec. 17, 1861 ; transferred, because of rheuma- 
tism, to Veteran Reserve Corps, May i, 1862; re-enlisted as veteran. 

Willard Raymond Lawrence, 28; July 12, 1861 ; shot through the abdo- 
men and killed at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1S61. 

Robert Roberts Moses, 24; Dec. 17, 1861 ; shot through the lungs at An- 
tietam, Sept. 17, 1862, and died Oct. 3, 1862. [Mass. Records say 
Oct. 5.] 

George F. O.sgood, 21 ; Aug. 12, 1862; taken prisoner at Antietam, Sept. 
17, 1862; killed at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. A soldier of Clinton, 
but born in Lancaster. 

Henry H. Rugg, 21 ; July 12, 1861 ; shot in shoulder at Ball's Bluff, Va., 
Oct. 21, 1 861 ; discharged because of wound, May i, 1862 ; re-enlisted 
later in the 53, and 42, M. V. L 

Luther Gerry Turner, 23; July 12, 1861 ; wounded in right arm at Ball's 
Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1861, and died Nov. i, 1861, mortification having 
supervened. Buried in church-yard at Poolesville, Md. 

James Gardner Warner, 31 ; July 12, 1861 ; killed by bullet, or drowned, 
at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1 861. 

Edwin H. Willard, 23; July 12, 1861 ; mustered out July 28, 1864. 

Company D. 
Joseph Copeland, 21 ; April 29, 1864; July 27, 1864, transferred to 20 M. 
V. L A non-resident hired ; bounty $325. 

Company F. 

Warren Ellis, 20; July 12, 1861 ; wounded at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862; 
transferred to U. S. Signal Corps, Oct. 27, 1863. [Mass. Records 
say Veteran Reserve Corps; an error.] Died July 21, 1880, of con- 
sumption, at Fitzwilliam, N. H. 

George C. Mann, 21 ; July 12, 1861 ; taken at Ball's Bluff, Oct. 21, 1861, 
and in prison at Richmond until February, 1862 ; wounded in right 
leg at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; mustered out July 28, 1864. Died 
1887. 

Gilbert W. Greene, 18; July 12, 1861 ; discharged for disability, Jan. 17, 
1863. A member of Fay Light Guard in Lancaster, but enlisted for 
Leominster when that company was disbanded. Re-enlisted in 4 
Mass. Cavalry. 

George C. Shean. This man was enlisted, according to Lancaster Rec- 
ords, in the Fifteenth Massachusetts, but the name is not found in 
muster-rolls of that or other regiment. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 311 

Sixteenth Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment, under Colonel Powell T. Wyman, left 
for the front August 17, 1861, and for several months was 
stationed at Fortress Monroe, Va. It joined the Arm}^ of 
the Potomac June 13, 1862, and participated in the battles 
of Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, 
Chantilly and Fredericksburg in 1862 ; Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg and Locust Grove, 1863 ; Wilderness, Spottsyl- 
vania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, 1864. 

Company D. 

Albert G. Hunting. 19; July 2, 1861 ; killed at Fair Oaks, June 25, 1862. 
Served for Holliston, as did his brother, J. W. Hunting, the Hunting 
family having moved from that place to Lancaster a short time before 
the war. 

Joseph W. Hunting, 22; July 2, 1861 ; mustered out July 27, 1864. Died 
not long after. 

William Thompson, 18; July 2, 1861 ; shot in the face, the ball passing 
through the head, May 10, 1862, at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., 
but survived, and was mustered out July 27, 1864. Shot and killed 
in Connecticut. 1877. Brother of George, 53 M. V. I. 

Company C. 

George A. Barnes, corporal, 20; July 2, 1861 ; shot through the foot in 

the second battle of Bull Run, Va., and taken prisoner, Aug. 20, 1862 ; 

discharged because of wound, Oct. 10, 1862 
Frank W. Barnes, 18 ; enlisted July, 1862, but not mustered, and enlisted 

in U. S. Navy, Sept. 15, 1862. Brother of foregoing. 
George K. Richards, 39; Nov. 25, 1861 ; transferred Aug. 11, 1863, to 

Veteran Reserve Corps ; re-enlisted veteran. 



Nineteenth Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment left the state August 28, 1861, command- 
ed by Colonel Edward W. Ilinks. It took part in the 
battles of Ball's Bluff, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, the sec- 
ond Bull Run, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, and the various 
battles before Richmond and Petersburg. 



312 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Company F. 

Asa Whitman Green, 22; Jan. 30, 1862; wounded Dec. 13, 1862, at 
Fredericksburg, Va., in left leg; transferred Sept. 26, 1863, to Veter- 
an Reserve Corps. Enlisted in Haverhill ; native of Lancaster, and 
brother of the following; died 1885. 

Franklin Webster Green, 21 ; Jan. 25, 1862; wounded June, 1862, in left 
leg, during the seven days fighting before Richmond ; discharged be- 
cause of wound, Feb. 19, 1863. Credited to Clinton. 

Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment was led successively by Colonels William 
R. Lee, Francis W. Palfrey, Paul J. Revere and George 
N. Macy ; and was engaged at Ball's Bluff, Fair Oaks, 
Savage Station, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Chantilly, Antie- 
tam and Fredericksburg, 1861-2 ; Chancellorsville, Gettys- 
burg, Bristoe Station, 1863; Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 
Cold Harbor, Petersburg, etc., 1864. 

John Louis Moeglen, "36;" Aug. 29, 1861 ; discharged for disability, April 
29, 1862; served later in Co. M, 2 Mass. Cavalry. A Prussian resi- 
dent of Lancaster, probably over fifty years of age. 

Company D. 
Thomas E. Burditt, 22; Sept. 4, 1861 ; mustered out Sept. 14, 1864. 

Company E. 
Joseph Copeland, 21 ; April 29, 1864; transferred from Co. I), 15 M. V. 
L, July 27, 1864, to complete term of enlistment; died a prisoner at 
Salisbury, N. C, Dec. 21, 1864. Non-resident employed by Lancas- 
ter; bounty $325. 

Unassigned. 
Charles Wilkinson, 30; July 18, 1863 ; mustered out June, 1865. A boat- 
man, non-resident, hired substitute for George E. P. Dodge. 

Tw^enty-first Massachusetts Infantry. 

This Worcester County regiment left camp August 23, 
1861, commanded by Colonel Augustus Morse, and was 
for four months stationed at Annapolis, Md. Its battle ex- 
perience was as follows: Roanoke, New Berne, Camden, 
Second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 313 

Fredericksburg, during 1862 ; Blue Springs, Tenn., Siege 
of Knoxville, 1863 ; Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Coal Har- 
bor, Petersburg, etc., in 1864. A history of the regiment 
by Bvt. Brig. -Gen. Charles F. Walcott was published in 
1882. All but twenty-four of the regiment re-enlisted 
December 29, 1863, and came home on veteran furlough, 
January 8, 1864. August 19, 1864, the surviving veterans 
of this organization were transferred to the ^6 M. V. I. 

Company A. 

William H. Robbins, 39; Aug. 23, 1861 ; member of band, and discharged 
by a special order of War Dept., Aug. 11, 1862, mustering out all 
regimental bands. 

Cojtipany B. 

Dennis Mahar, 21 ; Aug. 23, 1861 ; discharged for disability Jan. 16, 1S63. 
Credited to Clinton. 

Company D. 

George H. Hardy, corporal, 21 ; Aug. 23, 1861 ; wounded in leg at Roan- 
oke Island, N. C, Feb. 8, 1862, and again in body before Petersburg, 
June, 1864; re-enlisted for Leominster, Jan. 2, 1864, and transferred 
to 36 and 56 M. V. I. Station agent at Lancaster, when enlisted. 

Daniel W. Rugg, 32; July 19, 1861 ; discharged for disability Dec. 20, 
1862. Lancaster born and bred, but resided in Eitchburg when en- 
listed. Died 1876. Brother of James, 53 M. V. I. 

Company E. 

William W. Bigelow enlisted, but was rejected by surgeons ; he afterwards 
enlisted for West Boylston in 25 M. V. I. 

James E. Burke, 26; Aug. 23, 1861 ; killed at Chantilly, Sept. i, 1862. 

Edwin F. Field, 29; Aug. 23, 1861; sergeant; promoted to second-lieu- 
tenant Dec. 18, 1862; resigned May 8, 1863. 

William L. Fox, 19 ; Aug. 23, 1861 ; corporal ; wounded in arm at Chan- 
tilly, Sept. I, 1862; promoted to sergeant; re-enlisted Jan. 2, 1864; 
discharged as supernumerary sergeant, Sept. 24, 1864. 

Charles E. McQuillan, corporal, 20; Aug. 23, 1861 ; wounded at Antie- 
tam, Sept. 17, 1862- transferred to 2 U. S. Cavalry, Co. K, Oct. 30, 
1862 ; re-enlisted veteran. Also in Hancock's U. S. Vet. Vols., Dec. 
9, 1864, to Dec. 9, 1865. Found in Mass. Records as Maqiiillon, 
Macquillen and Maffwilliam I 

Luke OUis, 19; Aug. 23, 1861 ; transferred to 2 U. S. Cavalry, Co. K, 
Oct. 23, 1862. Re-enlisted. 

Frank E. Pierce, 20; Aug. 23, 1861 ; transferred to 2 U. S. Cavalry, Co. 
K, Oct. 23, 1862. Brother of W. D. Pierce, 5 M. V. I. 
21 



314 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Ebenezer Waters Richards, 35; Aug. 23, 1861 ; killed at Fredericksburg, 
Va., Dec. 13, 1862, by a shell. 

Oliver B. Sawyer, 21 ; Aug. 23, 1861 ; discharged for disability resulting 
from small-pox, June 30, 1862. Served again as sergeant, Co. B, 40 
M. V. L 

Charles H. Sinclair, 21 ; Aug. 23, 1861 ; shot in head and killed, at New 
Berne, N.C., March 14, 1862. Of Leominster, resident in Lancaster 
when enlisted. 

Woodbury Whittemore, 33 ; Aug. 21, 1861 ; second-lieutenant; promoted 
first-lieutenant, March 3, 1862; captain, July 27, 1862; resigned 
October 29, 1862. When enlisted, was foreman of the shoe manu- 
factory in Lancaster. 

Twenty-third Massachusetts Infantry. 
Colonel John Kurtz commanded this regiment when it 
left the state, November 11, 1861. After remaining en- 
camped for two months at Annapolis, Md., it was attached 
to the Burnside Expedition, and took part in battles of 
Roanoke, New Berne and Rawle's Mills, 1862 ; Kinston, 
Goldsboro, Wilcox's Bridge and Winton, 1863 ; Drewry's 
Bluff, Cold Harbor, etc., 1864. 

Company H. 

Sewell T. Lawrence, 31 ; Oct. 5, 1861 ; discharged for disability, Aug. 11, 
1862. 

Caleb Wood Sweet, 23 ; Sept. 28, 1861 ; re-enlisted Dec. 3, 1863 ; wound- 
ed and taken prisoner at Drewry's Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864. His 
wound was in the flesh of left arm, but gangrene supervened, and he 
died at Richmond, Aug. 3, 1864. 

Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry. 
The six Lancaster men in Company G of this regiment 
were transferred to it from Company H of the Thirty- 
fourth, June 14, 1865, to complete their terms of enlist- 
ment, after the latter organization had been mustered out 
at the end of three years' service. 

Charles E. Blood; mustered out Jan. 20, 1866. 

Joseph N. Day; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, May 2, 1S65. 
David W. Matthews. 

George W. Matthews; discharged for disability, June i, 1865. 
Patrick Sheary ; mustered out Jan. 20, 1866, with the regiment, at Rich- 
mond, Va. \Shary and Sherry in Mass. Records.] 
George E. Wiley; discharged because of wound, June 26, 1865. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 315 

Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry. 

Colonel Edwin Upton of Fitchburg led this regiment 
from the state. October 31, 1861. It formed a part of the 
Burnside Expedition to North Carolina, and participated 
in the battles of that campaign, 1862 and 1863. In 1864, 
being re-enlisted as a veteran regiment, it was engaged at 
Arrowfield Church, Drewry's BlufT and Cold Harbor. 
See "Wearing the Blue in the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infan- 
try," by J. Waldo Denny. 

Company C. 
Jonas H. Beard, 25 ; Sept. 28, 1861 ; re-enlisted Dec. i8, 1863; wounded 

in liip, June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor, Va. ; mustered out, July 13, 1865. 

\jfaines H. Beard in Mass. Records and History of regiment.] 

Company D. 
William W. Bigelow, 21 ; Sept. 27, 1861 ; enlisted for West Boylston ; 
taken prisoner; discharged for disability, March 18, 1863. 

Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry. 

At the date of muster of the two Lancaster recruits for 
this regiment, it was with General Sheridan in the Shen- 
andoah Valley. Each received $325 bounty. 

Cofnpa7iy E. 

Charles Puffer, 41 ; Aug. 9, 1864; mustered out Aug. 26, 1865. 

Unassigned. 

Charles L. Souveur, 21; May 7, 1864. A non-resident hired. {^Le Sou- 
venir in quota list.] No further record found. 

Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Infantry. 

A large proportion of this regiment were Irishmen by 
birth. It was in the battles of Second Bull Run, Chantilly, 
South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg, 1862 ; 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, 1863 ; Wilderness, Spottsyl- 
vania. Cold Harbor, Petersburg, etc., 1864. Colonels: 
William Montieth, Richard Byrnes and Richard W. Cart- 
wright. The Lancaster men in this regiment, except the 
brothers True, were non-resident substitutes. 



31,6 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Company A. 

William Atchinson, 22; Aug. 10, 1863; mustered out June 30, 1865. A 
boiler-maker, hired substitute for Charles L. Wilder, Jr. 

George H. True, 21; Oct. 8, 1861 ; member of band; discharged by 
special order of War Dept., Aug. 17, 1862. Died in Ohio, Aug. 30, 
1863. 

James G. True, 25; Oct. 8, 1861 ; member of band; discharged by spe- 
cial order of War Dept., Aug. 17, 1862. Died in California, Nov. 
27, 1863, of consumption contracted in service. 

Coinpatiy D. 
John Smith, 23; May 7, 1864; mustered out, June 15, 1865; bounty $325. 

Unassigiied. 
Michael O'Brien, 23; May 7, 1864; bounty $325. No further record. 
William Smith, 25 ; May 7, 1864; bounty $325. No further record. 

Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Infantry. 

Two non-resident substitutes, recruits to the Thirty-fifth 
M. V. I., were transferred to this regiment, June 9, 1865, 
to complete the unexpired terms of their enlistments. 

Edward Pierce. Dropped as a deserter. 
John Krum. Deserted June 6, 1865. 

Thirtieth Massachusetts Infantry. 

In this regiment, John Edwin Dudley, credited to Boston, 
was a native of Lancaster. He had previously served as 
sergeant in the First Cahfornia Vols. He was commis- 
sioned second-lieutenant, December 7, 1864; first-lieuten- 
ant, December 8, 1864 ; captain, April 21, 1865 ; mustered 
out July 5, 1866. His brother, Nathan A. M. Dudley, col- 
onel of this regiment, and brevet brigadier-general, though 
not born in Lancaster, lived here in boyhood. 

Thirty-second Massachusetts Infantry. 

Company D. 
William F. Murphy, 22; Sept. 7, 1863; transferred May 3, 1864, to U. S. 
Navy. A non-resident, substitute for Elbridge W. Hosmer. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 317 

TiiiRTY-TiiiRD Massachusetts Infantry. 

Colonel Adin B. Underwood, who succeeded Colonel 
Albert C. Maggi in the command of this regiment, pub- 
lished in 1881, "The Three Years Service of the Thirty- 
third Mass. Infantry Regiment." It went to the front Aug. 
14, 1862, and was engaged at Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
ville and Gettysburg while in the Army of the Potomac ; 
and at Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, 
Cassville, Dallas, Kenesaw, Atlanta, etc., after joining the 
western army under General William T. Sherman. 

Co7npany E. 

Roswell Atherton, 30; Aug. 5, 1862; discharged for disability, Nov. 30, 
1862. Born and bred in Lancaster, enlisted in Groton. 

John Dupee, 36; July 2, 1864; transferred to 2 M. V. I., June i, 1865, to 
complete term of service. A hired substitute ; bounty $325. 

Henry Jackson Parker, 27 ; Aug. 5, 1862; first-sergeant; sergeant-major 
Feb. 18, 1863; second-lieutenant, March 29, 1863; first-lieutenant, 
July 16, 1863; killed at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864, while command- 
ing skirmish line. He served in the "old Sixth" three months. 
Resident of Townsend, but born and bred in Lancaster. 

Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment left the state August 15, 1862, command- 
ed by Colonel George D. Wells. Its second in command, 
Colonel William S. Lincoln, in 1879 published a history of 
the regiment. It participated in the Shenandoah Valley 
campaign of 1864, being in the battles of Newmarket, 
Piedmont, Lynchburg, Snicker's Gap, Martinsburg, Hall- 
town, Berry ville, Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar 
Creek. In March. 1865, it was joined to the Army of the 
James, and fought at Hatcher's Run, and in the capture of 
Battery Gregg. 

Henry Bowman, before named in 15 M. V. I., was commissioned major of 
this regiment, Aug. 6, 1862, but did not join it, being promoted to 
colonelcy of 36 M. V. I. 

Company A. 

Charles B. Flagg, corporal, 23 ; June 23, 1862 ; mustered out June 16, 1865. 
Brother of Albert, 53 M. V. I. 



3l8 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

John Patrick Wise, 21; July 31, 1862; died at home of consumption, 
March 15, 1864; \_March 16 in Mass. Records, by error.] Company 
clerk. 

Company C. 

Oren Hodgman, ig ; July 31, 1862 ; taken prisoner May 15, 1864, at New- 
market, Va., and died at Charleston, S. C, September 30, 1864. 
Credited to Sterling. 

Henry W. Willard, 21 ; Aug. 2, 1862; discharged for disability Feb. 26, 
1863. Credited to Leominster. 

Company F. 

Edward M. Fuller, corporal, 20; Aug. 9, 1862; appointed captain in 39 

U. S. Colored Troops, by S. O. 123, March 21, 1864. Credited to 

Clinton. 
Horatio EHsha Turner, 18; Aug. 2, 1862; died a prisoner at Anderson- 

ville, Ga., Sept. 8, 1864. (Cenotaph in middle cemetery has Sept. 5, 

by error.) Credited to Clinton. 

Company H. 

Charles E. Blood, 21; Dec. 19, 1863; bounty $325; taken prisoner at 
Cedar Creek, Oct. 13, 1864, but escaped at night; transferred June 
14, 1865, to Co. A, 24 M. V. L 

James Andrew Bridge, 18; Dec. 19, 1863; bounty $325 ; shot in forehead 
at Newmarket, Va., May 15, 1864, and died of wound. 

Jonas H. Brown, 41 ; July 31, 1862; mustered out June 16, 1865. 

Levi B. Burbank, 43; July 31, 1862; discharged for disability, Feb. 27, 
1864. 

Solon Whiting Chaplin, corporal, 38; July 31, 1S62; killed at Piedmont, 
Va., June 5, 1864. 

William L. Cobb, 22; July 18, 1862; second-lieutenant; first-lieutenant, 
Aug. 23, 1862; commissioned captain Feb. 18, 1865, but mustered 
out May 15, 1865, as first-lieutenant; wounded severely in forehead 
at Ripon, Oct. 18, 1863; Oct. 12, 1864, captured in Shenandoah 
Valley, he having voluntarily remained to aid Colonel George D. 
Wells, mortally wounded ; in Libby and Danville prisons five months. 
Died May 17, 1879, at Hot Springs, Arkansas, of brain fever, result- 
ing from his wound. 

George B. Coburn, 18; July 31, 1862; shot himself through foot before 
Petersburg, and discharged for disability. May 16, 1865. Brother of 
Cyrus E., 5 M. V. L 

James Dailey, 18; July 31, 1862; mustered out June 16, 1865. 

Daniel M. Damon, 25; July 31, 1862; first-sergeant; commissioned sec- 
ond-lieutenant. May 15, 1865, but mustered out as first-sergeant, June 
16, 1865 ; taken prisoner at Winchester, Sept. 19, 1864. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 319 

Joseph N. Day, 22; Jan. 4, 1864; bounty $325 ; shot in the head Sept. 
19, 1864, at Winchester; transferred to 24 M. V. I., June 14, 1865, 
and to Veteran Reserve Corps, May 2, 1865 ; discharged July 25, 1865. 

James Dillon, 26; July 31, 1862; injured in back hurling shot in camp, 
and discharged for disability, April 7, 1863; died at home, of con- 
sumption. May 10, 1863. 

Francis Henry Fairbanks, 26; July 31, 1862 ; died a prisoner at Salisbury, 
N. C, Jan. 4, 1865, having been captured at Cedar Creek, Oct. 13, 

1864. [Jan. 5, in Mass. Records.] Served before in 15 M. V. I. 
George W. Farnsworth, 18; Jan. 4, 1864; bounty $325; wounded in 

face at Piedmont, June 5, 1864; discharged for disability, June 8, 

1865. Brother ot John E. Farnsworth. 

John A. Farnsworth, corporal, 18; July 31, 1862; wounded in arm at 
Piedmont, Va., June 5, 1864; discharged for disability. May 18, 1865. 

John E. Farnsworth, corporal, 18 ; July 31, 1862 ; wounded in leg at New- 
market, Va., May 15, 1864; wounded in arm at Winchester, Sept 19, 
1864; also slightly wounded in hip; mustered out June 16, 1865. 

Michael Fury, 26; July 31, 1862; severely wounded in leg at Piedmont, 
Va., June 5, 1864; mustered out Aug. 5, 1865 ; died March 3, 1888. 

Stephen Wesley Gray, 30; July 31, 1862; died of fever at Martinsburg, 
Va., April 2, 1864. Brother of James, 15 M. V. I. 

Thomas A. G. Hunting, 45; July 31, 1862; shot through the body and 
taken prisoner at Piedmont, Va., June 5, 1S64; discharged for disa- 
bility. May 23, 1865. He had two sons in the 16 M. V. I. 

David W. Matthews, 20; Sept. 19, 1863; bounty $50; transferred June 
14, 1865, to 24 M. V. I. Brother of next. 

George W. Matthews, 18; Sept. 19, 1863; bounty $50; wounded in leg 
at Newmarket, Va., May 15, 1864; taken prisoner at Liberty, West 
Virginia, June 19, 1864, and starved nearly to death in Andersonville 
prison, Georgia; discharged for disability, June i, 1S65, and died of 
consumption in Lancaster, Nov. 24, 1876. 

William H. Mellor, 18; July 31, 1862; transferred to Veteran Reserve 
Corps, Jan. 19, 1865. \Milkr in Mass. Records.] 

Patrick Sheary, 28 ; Jan. 5, 1864; bounty $325 ; transferred to 24 M. V. I., 
June 14, 1865. 

Charles E. Tisdale, 20 ; July 31, 1862; corporal; discharged for disability, 
Jan. 8, 1863. 

George E. Wiley, 22; Jan. i, 1864; bounty $325; wounded in arm at 
Fisher's Hill, Va., Sept. 22, 1864; transferred to 24 M. V. I., June 
14, 1865, ^"d discharged for disability, June 26, 1865. 

Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry. 
Two non-resident substitutes, hired for the town, were 
recruits for this regiment, received $325 bounty, and upon 



320 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

muster out of the organization after its three years' service 
had expired, were transferred to the 29th M. V. I., to 
complete their term of enlistment. Both deserted. Major 
Sidney Willard, who was shot through the body, being in 
command of the regiment, at Fredericksburg, Va., Decem- 
ber 13, 1862, and died the next day, was the son of Joseph 
Willard, Esq., historian of Lancaster, and born in this 

town, A. D. 1831. 

Co7)ipany B. 
Edward Pierce, 21 ; June 29, 1864. 

CoDipany K. 
John Krum, 24; June 29, 1864. 

Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry. 
Lieut.-Col. John W. Kimball of the 15th M. V. I., was to 
have received the command of this regiment. The War 
Department not consenting to his discharge, Henry Bow- 
man was commissioned its colonel, he being then major of 
the 34th M. V, I. The regiment left the state September 
2, 1862. It participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, 
1862; Jackson, Miss., Blue Springs, Campbell's Station, 
Siege of Knoxville, Tenn., 1863; Wilderness, Spottsyl- 
vania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Hatcher's Run, etc., 
1864-5. A history of the regiment was published in 1884. 
Henry Bowman, 28; Aug. 22, 1862, colonel; resigned July 27, 1863; re- 
commissioned in October, 1863, and chief of staff of General Wilcox 
at Cumberland Gap, Tenn., Nov. 21 to Dec. 25, 1863; rejoined the 
regiment Dec. 26, 1863, but unable to be mustered in as colonel, the 
regiment being below the minimum ; appointed captain and assistant 
quartermaster of volunteers, Feb. 29, 1864, and on duty with Third 
Division, Ninth Army Corps ; mustered out as brevet major, Aug. 15, 
1866. Bowman commanded the Third Brigade of First Division, 
Ninth Army Corps, June and July, 1863. Brother of Lieutenant 
Samuel Mirick Bowman of 51 M. V. L 
Company G. 
John Chickering Haynes, 29; Jan. 2, 1864; bounty $325 ; died of disease 

at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, March 19, 1864. 
George Henry Patrick, 21 ; Oct. 14, 1864; bounty $202.66; transferred to 
56 M. V. L, June 8, 1865. Credited to Worcester; served for Lan- 
caster in 53 M. V. L 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 321 

Compaiiy I. 
George H. Hardy, 23; Jan. 2, 1864; re-enlisted veteran in 21 M. V. I., 
from wiiich he was transferred to 36 M. V. I., Aug. 30, 1864; trans- 
ferred to 56 M. V. I., June 8, 1865. Credited to Leominster. 
Unassigncd. 
Charles F. Burditt, 43; Dec. 26. 1863; rejected by surgeon, Jan. 2, 1864. 

A veteran soldier of the Seminole War. 
Leonard H. Parker, 21 ; Dec. 29, 1863; bounty $325 ; mustered out June 
8, 1865. Brother of Lieut. Henry J. Parker. 

Fortieth Massachusetts Infantry. 

Company B. 
Oliver B. Sawyer, sergeant, 22; Aug. 22, 1862; mustered out June 16, 
1865. Credited to Stow. Served before for Lancaster in Co. E, 
21 M. V. I. 

Forty-second Massachusetts Infantry. 100 Days. 
A history of this regiment was published in 1886. 

Company E. 
Henry H. Rugg, 24 ; July 22, 1864; bounty $73.33 ; mustered out Nov, 
II, 1864. Served before in 15 and 53 M. V. I. 
Company K. 
Horace Worcester, 20; July 18, 1864; bounty f.75. 99 ; mustered out Nov. 
II, 1864. Credited to Boston. Bred and died in Lancaster. Died 
of consumption engendered in service, May 22, 1S66. 

Forty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry. 9 Months. 
Compatiy F. 
Henry Maynard Putney, 20; Sept. 26, 1862; shot through the head at 
Dover Cross Roads, N. C, April 28, 1863. Credited to Framingham. 

Forty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry. 9 Months. 

Company K. 
George D. Weld, 44; Oct. 31, 1862; mustered out Sept. i, 1863. Killed 
in Lancaster, Dec. i, 1865, being run over by his own team. 

Fifty-first Massachusetts Infantry. 9 Months. 
This regiment, commanded by Colonel A. B. R. 
Sprague, left the state November 25, 1862, by transport 
from Boston, and served in North Carolina. 



322 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Company A. 
Samuel Mirick Bowman, sergeant, 25; Sept. 25, 1862; mustered out July 
27, 1863. Credited to Clinton ; born and bred in Lancaster. Served 
later in 57 M. V. I. Brother of Col. Henry Bowman, 36 M. V. I. 

Company C. 
Frank E. Nourse, 21; Sept. 25, 1862; mustered out July 27, 1863. 

Brother of Fred F., 5 M. V. L 
Edwin A. Otis, corporal, 19; Sept. 25, 1862; mustered out July 27, 1863. 

Company E. 
Simon M. Plaisted, 24; Sept. 25, 1862; mustered out July 27, 1863. 
Credited to Worcester. Served later in Co. F, First Battalion, Heavy 
Artillery. 

Fifty-third Massachusetts Infantry. 9 Months. 

This regiment was commanded by Colonel John W. 
Kimball of Fitchburg, and left Camp Stevens, near Gro- 
ton, November 29, 1863. It was transported by steamer 
from New York to New Orleans, and was engaged in 
various severe marches and skirmishes in Louisiana. Its 
most important record was made during the siege of Port 
Hudson. In the assault upon that stronghold, June 14, 
1863, it won much credit and experienced heavy loss. 
Each soldier of Lancaster in this regiment received a 
bounty of one hundred dollars from the town. The date 
of enlistment of the Lancaster men was September 2, 1862, 
in nearly every case. 

Company C. 
Thomas Augustus Hills, 21; Nov. 6, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 
Credited to Leominster; clerk in Lancaster. Served later in 5 M. V. 
I., 100 days. 
Adelbert W. Johnson, 24; Nov. 6, 1862 ; wounded in knee at Port Hud- 
son, La., July II, 1863, and died at Baton Rouge about three weeks 
later. Credited to Leominster. Had served Lancaster in 15 M. V. L 
George Thompson, 21 ; Nov. 6, 1862; died of disease at Brashear City, 
La., May 30, 1863. Credited to Leominster, but Lancaster born and 
bred. Brother of William, 16 M. V. L 

Company T. 
John G. Albee, 18 ; Oct. 18, 1862 ; taken prisoner at Thibodeaux, La., and 
held in rebel prison for a month ; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 323 

Jolin Curtis Ayers, 25 ; sergeant, Oct. 18, 1862 ; appointed second-lieuten- 
ant May 22, 1863; first-lieutenant July 2, 1863; mustered out Sept. 
2, 1863. 

Walter Andrew Brooks, 25 ; corporal, Oct. 18, 1862 ; died of disease in 
hospital at Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 22, 1863. 

George Edwin Chafee, 35; Oct. 18, 1862; taken prisoner at Brashear 
City, La., June 20, 1863, and paroled; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Frank W. Chandler, 18; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Henry Albert Cutler, 18; Oct. 18, 1862; died of chronic diarrhciea, July 
9, 1863, at Baton Rouge, La. 

William H. Fisher, 18; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Oscar Frary, 30; Oct. 18, 1862; died of chronic diarrhoea and homesick- 
ness at Baton Rouge, La., July 28, 1863. [Mass. Records .say Jit7ie 
28.] Company cook. 

Harris C. Harriman, 33 ; Oct. 18, 1862 ; wounded in assault at Port Hud- 
son, La., June 14, 1863, a piece of shell passing through calf of leg; 
mustered out Sept. 2, 1863 ; died Feb. 4, 1888, in Chicago. 

David W. Jackson, 33; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

John James, 21; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863; killed May 
25, 1884. 

Joseph B. Moore, 38; Oct. 18, 1862; wounded in head May 27, 1863, at 
Port Hudson, La. ; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Byron H. Nourse, 24; sergeant, Oct. 18, 1862; promoted to first-sergeant 
Jan. 22, 1863; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Roscoe H. Nourse, 22; drummer, Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 
1863. Served again in 5 M. V. I. Brother of Byron H. 

George Henry Patrick, ig; Oct. iS, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 
Served again in 36 and 56 M. V. I. 

Walter C. Rice, 45; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1S63. Served 
chiefly as company cook and hospital attendant ; died in Lancaster, 
July 30, 1867. 

Edwin Sawtell, 24; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Walter S. H. Turner, 18; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Edward Richmond Washburn, 26; first-lieutenant Oct. 18, 1862; promo- 
ted captain Nov. 8, 1862. In the assault upon Port Hudson, La., 
June 14, 1863, his left thigh was shattered by musket ball and buck 
shot. Of this wound, after apparent recovery, he died at Lancaster, 
^ept. 5, 1864. Brother of Colonel Francis Washburn, 4 Mass. Cav- 
alry. 

Edmund C. Whitney, 26; corporal, Oct. 18, 1862; clerk in quartermaster 
and commissary departments Dec. 16 to Jan. 20, 1863; promoted 
sergeant July 14, 1863; wounded in right arm at Port Hudson, July 
14, 1863: mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Charles H. Wilder, 42; Oct. 18, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. Died 
Nov. 30 1885, in Lancaster. 



324 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Company K. 

Albert Flagg, 18; Oct. 17, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. Resident 

of Lancaster, but enlisted for Sterling. 
Stephen Adams Keyes, 18 ; Oct. 17, 1862 ; died on transport while on the 

way homeward, and buried at sea, off Florida coast, Aug. 10, 1863. 

Brother of Sumner W., 5 M. V. L 
Henry H. Rugg, 22; corporal, Oct. 17. 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. 

Rugg had served before in 15 M.V. I., and enlisted later in 42 M.V. L 
James Rugg, 42; Oct. 17, 1862; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. Brother of 

Daniel W., 21 M. V. L 

Fifty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry. 

Company G. 

George H. Hardy was transferred June 8, 1865, from 36 M. V. I. ; mus- 
tered out July 12, 1865. Credited to Leominster. 

George Henry Patrick ; transferred from 36 M. V. L ; mustered out Aug. 
7, 1865. Credited to Worcester. 

Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry. 

This regiment, under Colonel William F. Bartlett, left 
the state April 18, 1864. It was engaged in the battles of 
the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, 
Hatcher's Run, etc. 

Company C. 
Samuel Mirick Bowman, 26; first-lieutenant, Dec. 26, 1863; terribly 
wounded in body and limbs by fragments of a shell, when in his tent 
before Petersburg, Va., July 24, 1864, and died two days after. He 
had before served in 51 M. V. L Credited to Worcester. His name 
is inscribed upon the memorial tablets of Lancaster, Clinton and 
Worcester. 
Frank B. Leroy, 18; Feb. 18, 1864; bounty $325; mustered out June 22, 

1865. A non-resident hired for the town. 
Edwin Sykes, 29; Feb. 18, 1864; deserted July i, 1864. A non-resident 
hired for the town ; bounty $325. 

First Massachusetts Cavalry. 

• 

Francis Washburn, 24; second-lieutenant, Dec. 26, 1861 ; promoted to 
first-lieutenant March 7, 1862 ; transferred to 2 Mass. Cavalry as cap- 
tain, Jan. 26, 1863. Brother of Capt. Edward, 53 M. V. L 

Company G. 
Charles A. Robinson, 21 ; Oct. 5, 1861 ; discharged for disability Feb. 6, 
1863. Native of Lancaster, enlisted for Lowell. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 325 

Second Massachusetts Cavalry. 

This regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles R. 
Lowell, Jr., left the state May 11, 1863, and was in the 
Department of Washington during that year. During 1864 
it was chiefly in the Army of the Shenandoah, and conspic- 
uous in numerous engagements. 

Francis Washburn, 25; captain, Jan. 26, 1S63; promoted lieutenant- 
colonel 4 Mass. Cavalry, Feb. 4, 1864. 

Company H. 

John Coyle, 22; May 7, 1864; deserted Feb. 15, 1865. Non-resident 

hired; bounty $325. \Coye in Mass. Records. 
William Ross, 27; May 7, 1864; deserted May 12, 1S64. Non-resident 

hired ; bounty $325. 

Cojiipany L. 

John Goodwin, 18; Sept. 13, 1864; deserted Dec. 1, 1864. Non-resident 
hired ; bounty $50. 

Company M. 

John Louis Moeglen, 43; Feb. 2, 1864; died Sept. 28, 1864, of bullet 
wound received in Shenandoah Valley campaign. A Prussian, resi- 
dent of Lancaster, who had served before in 20 M. V. I. Credited to 
Boston in Mass. Records; bounty $325. 

Unassigned. 

John Bell, 25; May 7, 1864; bounty $325 ; non-resident hired. No fur- 
ther record. 

James Langley, 22 ; May 7, 1864; bounty $325 ; non-resident hired. No 
further record. 

John Monyer, 35; Dec. 27, 1864; bounty $325 ; non-resident hired. No 
further record. SJ\Iongen in Mass. Records.] 

Third Massachusetts Cavalry. 

Company A. 

William S. McKay,. 24; sergeant, April 8, 1864; bounty $325; promoted 
sergeant-major July 26, 1865; mustered out Sept. 28, 1865. Non- 
resident substitute. 

Unassigned. 

Albert Bergmann, 26; July 2, 1864; bounty $325 ; a hired substitute, of 
Jersey City. 



326 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry. 

This regiment was organized by consolidation of the 
Third Battalion of the First Massachusetts Cavalry with 
two battalions of veterans recruited in the spring of 1864. 
Colonel A. A. Rand was its first commander. The Sec- 
ond Battalion served with the Army of the South ; the First 
and Third participated in the mihtary operations before 
Richmond, and the guidons of Companies E and H were 
the first Union colors raised upon the capital of that city, 
April 3, 1865. The desperate charges of Companies I, L 
and M, at High Bridge, Va., led by Colonel Francis 
Washburn, delaying the advance guard of Lee's retreating 
army, essentially hastened the final collapse of the Con- 
federacy. 

Francis Washburn, 25; lieutenant-colonel, Feb. i, 1864; colonel, Feb. 4, 
1865; wounded at High Bridge, Va., April 6, 1865, while leading a 
charge against a vastly superior force. Being engaged in a hand-to- 
hand encounter with a Confederate officer, he received a pistol shot in 
the fece from another, and fell stunned from his horse. Lying on the 
ground, he was fatally wounded by a sabre stroke upon his skull, in- 
flicted by a ruffian to whom, while engaged in despoiling his person, 
he made some motion of remonstrance. He died at Worcester, Mass., 
April 22, 1865. Brevet brigadier-general vols., April 6, 1865. [See 
Appendix.'\ 

Company C. 

Henry F. Ball, 24; Dec. 31, 1863; promoted hospital steward September, 
1864; discharged Nov. 14, 1865. Credited to Clinton. 

CoDipany E. 
William Schumaker, 21; corporal, Jan. 27, 1S64; bounty $325; died a 
prisoner at Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 13, 1864. Credited to South- 
bridge. 

Company F. 
John Veret, 28; Jan. 5, 1864; bounty $325 ; mustered out Nov. 14, 1865. 
Enlisted as a farrier. 

Seventh Battery Massachusetts Light Artillery. 

Shortly after the Lancaster recruits joined this battery, 
it proceeded by steamer from Baltimore to the Department 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 327 

of the Gulf, and was engaged in the siege operations at 
Mobile. 

George Walton Divoll, 27 '1 J'ln- 5> 1864; bounty $325; died at New Or- 
leans, La., of disease, Sept. 21, 1864. Credited to Leominster. 

Henry S. Priest, 25; Jan. 4, 1864; rejected recruit Jan. 9, 1864. 

J. Prescott Wilder, 31; Jan. 4, 1864; bounty $325; mustered out June 
8, 1865. 

Eleventh Battery Massachusetts Light Artillery. 

This battery left the state February 5, 1864, and was in 
the engagements of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold 
Harbor, Petersburg, etc. The three Lancaster recruits 
were non-residents. 

Thomas Fox, 18 ; Dec. 23, 1864; bounty $325 ; mustered out June 18, 1S65. 
John Toole, 18 ; " " " " 

Joseph Valdez, 30 ; " " " «' 

Thirteenth Battery Massachusetts Infantry. 

This battery served in the Department of the Gulf. Its 
two recruits credited to Lancaster were non-residents. 

George W. Davis, 23; April 6, 1864; bounty $325 ; mustered out July 28, 

1865. 
William Smith, 22; April 6, 1864; bounty $325 ; mustered out July 28, 

1865. 

First Battalion Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. 

Company F. 
Simon M. Plaisted, 25; Aug. 15, 1864; bounty $209.32; mustered out 
June 28, 1865 ; served also in 51 M. V. I., nine months. Credited to 
Grafton. 

First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. 

This regiment, originally the Fourteenth Infantry, re- 
enlisted in December, 1863, and was for six months in the 
fortifications of Washington. Thence it marched to the 
front, and as inf^mtry fought in the several engagements 
that ended in the fall of Richmond. 



328 , ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Company G. 
John Ollis, corporal, i8 ; Dec. 3, 1863 ; bounty $325 ; wounded in foot by 
shell, at Petersburg, Va., June 22, 1864; mustered out as supernu- 
merary July 31, 1865. Credited to Boston. Brother of Luke, 2 U. 
S. Cavalry. 

Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. 

This regiment was stationed in North Carolina during 
its full term 01 service. Companies B, C, F, I and M, un- 
der command of Lieutenant-Colonel A. B. R. Sprague, 
took part in the battle of Kinston, N. C. 

Co))tpatiy A. 
Frank Miller, 27; July 2, 1864; bounty 325; died May 12, 1865, at New 

Berne, N. C. Non-resident hired. 
Louis Neu, 22; July 2, 1864; bounty $325; died Nov. 22, 1864, at Ply- 
mouth, N. C. Non-resident hired. 

Co7}ipany M. 
Sanford B. Wilder, 24; Dec. 24, 1863; bounty $325; mustered out Sept. 
3, 1865. Had enlisted before in 53 M. V. I., but illness prevented 
service with that regiment. 

Unassigned. 
John Kern, 22; July 2, 1864; bounty $325. No further records. Non- 
resident substitute. \yeaH Kern in Mass. Records.] 

Third Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. 

Company L. 
William McCarron, 23; May 30, 1864; bounty $325 ; discharged for dis- 
ability Sept. 30, 1864. Non-resident. 

Veteran Volunteer Reserve Corps. 

Charles H. Balcom, 33; transferred from 15 M. V. 1., Co. C, April 15, 

1864; re-enlisted May 14, 1864, and credited to Randolph; mustered 

out Nov. 14, 1865. 
Joseph N. Day, 22 ; transferred from 34 M. V. L, Co. H, and 24 M. V. I., 

Co. G, May 2, 1865 ; mustered out July 25, 1865. 
Asa Whitman Green, 22; transferred from 19 M. V. L, Co. F, Sept. 26, 

1863. 
Solomon Kittredge, 42 ; transferred from 15 M. V. L, Co. C, May i, 1862 ; 

re-enlisted veteran July i, 1864; mustered out Nov. 14, 1865. 
WilHam H. Mellor, 18 ; transferred from 34 M. V. L, Co. H, Jan. 19, 1865. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 329 

Oliver W. Moore, 20; transferred from 15 M. V. I., Co. C, Sept. 8, 1863 ; 

re-enlisted for Lancaster, July 21, 1864; mustered out Nov. 17, 1865. 

Served the first three years for Lowell. 
George K. Richards, 39; transferred from 16 M. V. I., Co. C, Aug. 11, 

1863; re-enlisted for Provincetown, Nov. 30, 1864; mustered out 

Nov. 14, 1865. Died March 17, 1879. 



U. S. Veteran Volunteers, Hancock's Corps. 

Charles E. McQuillan, 23 ; Dec. 9, 1864; bounty $240 ; mustered out Dec. 
9, 1865. Served before in 21 M. V. I. and 2 U. S. Cavalry. 



U. S. Colored Troops, Thirty-ninth Regiment. 

Edward M. Fuller, 21 ; appointed captain by S. O. 123, transferred from 
34 M. V. I., Co. F; wounded in head at Petersburg, Va., July 30, 
1864 ; major U. S. C. T., June i, 1865 ; mustered out December, 1865. 



U. S. Signal Corps. 

Henry H. Elden, 23; Dec. 2, 1864; bounty $325. A non-resident hired. 

[Elder in Mass. Records.] 
Warren Ellis, 20; transferred from 15 M. V. I., Co. F, Oct. 27, 1863. 

Second U. S. Cavalry. 

Company K. 

Charles E. McQuillan, 20 ; enlisted from 21 M. V. I., Co. E, Oct. 30, 1862. 
Served later in U. S. Veteran Vols., Hancock's Corps. 

Luke Ollis, 19; enlisted from 21 M. V. I., Co. E, Oct. 23, 1862 ; re-enlisted 
veteran Feb. 29, 1864; wounded in arm when in pursuit of Early in 
the Shenandoah Valley, and died of wound Oct. 13, 1864. 

Frank E. Pierce, 22; enlisted from 21 M. V. I., Co. E, Oct. 23, 1862; re- 
enlisted Feb. 29, 1864. 

First U. S. Artillery. 

Company /. 
Fordyce Horan, 20; enlisted from 15 M. V. I., Co. A, Nov. 17, 1862; 

died insane, in hospital at Washington, Nov. 3, 1864. 
Henry H. Hosley, 19; enlisted from 15 M. V. I., Co. C, Nov. 12, 1862; 
mustered out July 12, 1864. 
22 



S30 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

U. S. Navy. 

Frank W. Barnes, i8; Sept. 15, 1862; enlisted on receiving ship Ohio, at 
Charlestown ; Oct. i, 1862, transferred to supply steamer Rhode 
Island; January, 1863, on blockading frigate Minnesota; discharged 
Sept. 15, 1863. 

John Gould ; October, 1S62, was on supply steamer Rhode Island. No 
other record found. 

Ephraim Mackrell, 18; Aug. 26, 1863, enlisted at Charlestown; served 
one year, chiefly on the gunboat Nipsic, in blockading Charleston. 
Brother of following. 

William J. Mackrell, 21 ; Aug. 12, 1862, enlisted at Charlestown ; wound- 
ed by concussion of shell, causing contusion of thigh, Feb. i, 1863, 
at Stono Inlet, S. C, and captured ; paroled March i, and sent north. 

William F. Murphy, 22 ; May 3, 1864, transferred from 32 M. V. I. Non- 
resident substitute for Elbridge W. Hosmer. 

Twentieth Connecticut Infantry. 
Company F. 
David Wilder Jones, 46; Aug. 11, 1862; enlisted at Newtown, Ct. ; 
wounded at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, and died the same day. 
Native and long resident of Lancaster. 

First Connecticut Heavy Artillery. 

Company F. 
James Homer Newman, 27; May 23, 1861 ; enlisted at New Haven; re- 
enlisted veteran, Dec. 10, 1863; mustered out Sept. 25, 1865. Born 
and bred in Lancaster. 

Eleventh Rhode Island Infantry. 9 Months. 

Company D. 

Charles T. Wiley ; enlisted at Providence, Oct. i, 1862; mustered out 

July 13, 1863. Resident of Lancaster. 

Company G. 

James T. Fletcher ; enlisted at Providence, Oct. i, 1862; mustered out 

July 13, 1863. Born and bred in Lancaster. Dead. 

First New Hampshire Infantry. 3 Months, etc. 

Charles Timothy Fairbanks, 23; May 2, 1861, enlisted in Co. F, at 
Nashua; mustered out Aug. 6, 1861, and enlisted Sept. 15, 1862, in 
the New Hampshire Battalion of New England Cavalry, Co. M ; shot 
through the body in a skirmish, June 18, 1863, and died the next day. 
Born and bred in Lancaster. Brother of Francis Henry, 15 and 34 
M. V. I. 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 33 1 

Eighth New Hampshire Infantry. 

Frank Carter Bancroft, 17 ; Oct. 25, 1861, enlisted under the alias of Hen- 
ry F. Colter, in Co. A, at Nashua, and served as drummer ; re-enlisted 
as bugler, Jan. 4, 1864, and transferred Jan. i, 1865, to 8 Battalion 
N. H. Mounted Infantry; mustered out Oct. 28, 1865. 

Thirteenth New Hampshire Infantry. 

William Dustin Carr, 40; corporal; Sept. 19, 1862, enlisted at Mason; 
severely wounded by shell. May 13, 1864, and died at Point Lookout, 
Md., in hospital, June 20, 1864. [N. H. Records say June 22.] 

Ninth Vermont Infantry. 

Frank O. Sawyer, 30; July 9, 1862, at Burlington; commissioned first- 
lieutenant and quartermaster; appointed captain a. qm. U. S. vols., 
June 30, 1864; mustered out May 31, 1866. Born and bred in Lan- 
caster. 

Twelfth Vermont Infantry. 9 Months. 

Thomas Henry Warren, 35; enlisted at Burlington, Vt., Aug. 23, 1862; 
mustered out July 14, 1863. He died Sept. 29, 1873, in Lancaster, 
and was resident here most of his life. 

Nathaniel C. Sawyer was appointed from Vermont, major and paymas- 
ter, July 21, 1 863, and mustered out July 20, 1866. Brother of Frank O. 
Sawyer. 

Thirty-fifth New York Infantry. 

Francis B. Cutler, 25 ; enlisted in Co. A, at Elmira, N.Y., June i, 1861 ; 
killed at Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862. He resided in Lancas- 
ter until manhood, and his three brothers, credited to Lancaster, were 
in 15 and 53 M. V. I. 

Forty-second New York Infantry. Tammany Regt. 

James Finnessey, 21 ; corporal ; enlisted in New York city, Aug. 9, 1861 ; 
from Lancaster. Sergeant, transferred to 59 N. Y. ; mustered out 
Aug. 5, 1864; died Oct. 10, 1864. 

Sixtieth New York Infantry. 

Martin Kelly, 20; corporal; enlisted Oct. 17, 1861, in Co. H, at Ogdens- 
burg, N. Y. ; re-enlisted as veteran at Wauhatchie, Ala., Dec. 14, 
1863; mustered out July 17, 1865. 



332 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Ninth Iowa Infty. and Third Battery L. Art. 

Jerome Bradley, 28; September, 1861, commissioned junior second-lieu- 
tenant of the Dubuque Battery L. A. ; promoted senior second-lieu- 
tenant same battery, called 3 Iowa, Feb. 28, 1862; promoted first- 
lieutenant and quartermaster 9 Iowa V. I., March 16, 1862, but 
declined commission ; appointed captain and a. qm. U. S. vols., Feb. 
19, 1863; resigned Jan. 9, 1865. From infancy to manhood, of Lan- 
caster. 

Richard Jeffrey Cleveland, 40 ; enlisted in Co. B, Jones county, Iowa, Oct. 
9, 1 861 ; discharged Apnl i, 1863. Born and bred in Lancaster. 

Eleventh Illinois Cavalry. 

This regiment fought in battles of Shiloh, Corinth, luka, 

Lexington, Vicksburg, etc. 

Charles Lowell Bancroft, 34 ; of Farmington, 111. ; commissioned second- 
lieutenant Co. B, Dec. 20, 1 861 ; promoted first-lieutenant July 6, 
1862 ; mustered out Dec. 19, 1864. Slightly wounded in skirmish at 
Meridian, Miss. Born and lived until manhood in Lancaster. Died 
April 16, 1888, at Yankton, Dakota. 

Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. 

This regiment was in the Fifteenth Army Corps, and in 

battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, 

Jackson, and Missionary Ridge. 

Edward Russell Joslyn, 21 ; enlisted in Co. B, at Sterling, 111., May 24, 
1861 ; died at St. Louis, Mo., April 13, 1865, from effects of starva- 
tion in military prison at Florence, Ala., having been taken prisoner 
May 17, 1864, in the Georgia campaign. Native of, and credited to 
Lancaster. 

Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry. 
A history of this regiment was printed in 1887. The 
two Lancaster men serving in it enlisted at Camp Douglas, 
Chicago, and enrolled themselves in aid of the quota of 
their native town. The regiment was of General W. T. 
Sherman's original division in the Fifteenth A. C, and lost 
in killed and wounded nearly forty per cent of its numbers 
engaged at Shiloh, its first battle. It participated later in 
the battles of Russell's House, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkan- 
sas Post, Champion's Hill, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw, 



DESCRIPTIVE ROSTER. 333 

Atlanta, Ezra Church, Jonesboro, Fort McAllister and 
Bentonville ; and the sieges of Corinth, Vicksbiirg, Jack- 
son, Atlanta and Savannah. It marched 3240 miles, and 
travelled during its four years of service, 11,965 miles. 

Henry Stedman Nourse, 30; Oct. 23, 1861, began service as clerk of regi- 
ment; adjutant, Marcli i, 1862; captain of Co. H, Dec. 19, 1862; 
senior officer in command of regiment after battle of Jonesboro', 
Sept. I, 1864; appointed commissary of musters Seventeenth A. C, 
Oct. 24, 1864; slightly wounded in leg at Shiloh, by shell; declining 
commission as lieutenant-colonel then due, mustered out at expiration 
of service, March 29, 1865. 

George Lee Thurston, 30; Oct. 31, 1861, adjutant; promoted captain Co. 
B, March i, 1862. Given leave of absence by Gen. Grant, July i, 
1862, on surgeon's certificate "that such absence is necessary to save 
his life." Died at Lancaster, Dec. 15, 1862, of consumption engen- 
dered by fatigue and exposure during battle of Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 
1862. Sec Appendix. 

Veteran Re-enlistments. 

Charles H. Balcom, 15 M. V. I. and Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Frank Carter Bancroft, 8 N. H. V. I. 

Jonas H. Beard, 25 M. V. I. 

William L. Fox, 21 M. V. I. 

George H. Hardy, 21 M. V. I. 

Martin Kelly, 60 N. Y. V. I. 

Sumner R. Kilburn, 15 M. V. I. 

Solomon Kittredge, 15 M. V. I. and Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Charles E. McQuillan, 2 U. S. Cavalry and U. S. Vet. Vols. 

Oliver W. Moore, 15 M. V. I. and Veteran Reserve Corps. 

James Homer Newman, i Conn. Heavy Artillery. 

Luke Ollis, 2 U. S. Cavalry. 

Frank E. Pierce, 2 U. S. Cavalry. 

George K. Richards, 16 M. V. I. and Veteran Reserve Corps. 

Caleb W. Sweet, 23 M. V. I. 

Of the commissioned officers, Bancroft, Henry Bowman, Bradley, 
Cobb, Fuller, Nourse, Sawyer and Francis Washburn served throughout 
the war. 

Drafted July 18, 1864, and paid $300 for Substitutes. 

Miron H. Brewer, George E. P. Dodge, Horatio D. Humphrey, 
Oliver Warner Carter, Josiah Harris, Henry Stowe, 

Henry C. Cutting, Eli E. Howe, Charles Lewis Wilder, Jr. 

Elbridge Warren Hosmer, 



334 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

SUMMARY. 

The population of Lancaster, by census of i860, was 1732 

Its valuation in i860 was $848,100 

Lancaster's quota under all calls was 171 

Credited to the town by state authorities, 181 

Surplus, 10 

Individuals named in preceding lists, 215 

Of these, actual residents or natives were 168 

" non-residents employed as substitutes 36 

" drafted citizens paying $300, 10 

" re-enlisted veterans for three years were 15 

" serving in more than one organization, 24 

" commissioned, 20 

" killed in action or died of wounds, 27 

" died of disease before 1867, 23 

" wounded other than mortally (so far as recorded), .... 31 

The Cutler family furnished four brothers to the Union 
army, three of whom laid down their lives, the fourth being 
severely wounded. Two fathers, Benjamin Farnsworth 
and Jonathan Puffer Nourse, each sent three sons to the 
war. One father, Thomas A. G. Hunting, gave two sons 
and fought for the Union himself. Nineteen other families 
had each two brothers in the service. 

Several soldiers born in Lancaster, but whose birthplace 
and residence were in that part of the town which in 1850 
was incorporated as Clinton, will not be found named in 
the preceding lists. Doubtless several other natives of the 
town, not hereinbefore mentioned, fought during the civil 
war to the credit of other places, where they had made for 
themselves new homes ; but the military experience of 
such has not come to the knowledge of the writer. 

Adjutant General Schoulcr, in his History of Massachu- 
setts in the Civil War, says: "Lancaster furnished one 
hundred and eighty-one men for the war, which was a sur- 
plus of ten over and above all demands. Six were com- 
missioned officers." This statement coincides with the 
original quota list of the selectmen, and from that it was 
probably derived. It is, however, as the roster proves, an 
undervaluation of the contribution of manhood made by 



IN CONCLUSION. 335 



Lancaster for the suppression of the great treason. In the 
printed quota list some errors are noticeable ; and the 
omission of several names of soldiers, known to be Lan- 
caster born and bred, impelled the writer to attempt faith- 
fully and patiently to make up from all records attainable 
— aided by the memories and diaries of fellow soldiers, 
and the fellow townsmen who keep freshly in mind the 
soul-stirring experiences of the civil war — a full and accu- 
rate roster of the men who represented this town in various 
military organizations during that momentous struggle. 
He cannot hope that the outcome of his honest endeavors, 
as set forth in the preceding pages, is free from mistakes ; 
but it is hoped that these may not be found many nor inex- 
cusable. The published Records of the Massachusetts 
Volunteers are far from being always reliable ; indeed, the 
more searchingly they are examined, the more charity it 
requires to spare harsh terms in criticism of their inaccu- 
racies. Whenever possible, statements of these Records 
have been verified or corrected by certified copy from 
original muster rolls, army letters, family records, and dis- 
charge papers. When discrepancies have been found in 
different authorities, and they were many, they have been 
used to eliminate error, and noted with comment when im- 
portant or productive of uncertainty. 

It is no part of the purpose of this chronicle to magnify 
individual prowess and success, or to excuse individual 
failure and misconduct ; to eulogize, much less to under- 
rate any one. It would have given the writer great pleas- 
ure to add to his pages by including the battle record of 
each soldier. But this, while honoring the few living and 
accessible, would unavoidably have resulted in injustice to 
the majority, dead or distant. The foregoing lists are 
therefore merely a catalogue of those soldiers in army or 
navy who can, for any reason, be considered of Lancaster, 
with a systematic statement of such facts in their war ex- 
periences as usually appear in regimental muster rolls. 



33^ ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

To comrades and fellow townsmen, this effort to preserve 
in more full and convenient form than hitherto existed, 
honorable record of our active patriotism during a period 
of great national peril, is respectfully submitted by one 
proud to call himself a Lancaster soldier. 



The army of the West, under Sherman, had swept 
down from Atlanta to the sea, and now, jubilant and invin- 
cible, was advancing northward, half way on its triumphal 
march towards Richmond. The army of the East had at 
last completely enveloped its stubborn antagonist in gigan- 
tic coils, and crushed it into submission. The joy of peace 
assured and the nation regenerated illumined the faces of 
the loyal millions. Suddenly a brief electric message 
flashed east, west, north, south, that hushed all voice of 
rejoicing, carried dismay and indignation everywhere, and 
saddened each northern home. For "Father Abraham" 
had become a household word, and the loss by tragic death 
of President Lincoln was felt even more as a private than 
a public grief, now that the great mission of his life had 
been brought to grand conclusion. At a meeting of the 
town convened May 20, 1865, resolutions expressive of its 
profound sense of this calamity were recommended for 
adoption, and it was unanimously voted that they be re- 
corded in the town's book. 

On July 4, 1865, the people of Lancaster celebrated the 
victory of free institutions, assembled en masse in the field 
and adjoining grove at the " Meeting of the Waters." Pro- 
fessor William Russell read the Emancipation Proclama- 
tion, and the minister of the First Parish made an address. 
It was in itself one of the brightest and most beautiful of 
days. It was an immortal date, "wearing a double crown 
of Providential honors, as the commemoration not onl}'^ of 
the first, but of the second Birth of the RepubHc — not only 



SOLDIERS^ GRAVES IN LANCASTER. 337 



of the Declaration of the fathers, but of its re-affirmation 
and practical confirmation for all time." Not the least 
grateful duty of the occasion was to welcome so many as 
had returned of those who went forth with the blessinffs 
and prayers of the town upon them, to stand or fall in the 
mighty struggle. Their ranks had been thinned by disease 
and violent death. Some had not come back, and never 
will — but they are not dead — for that which inspired them 
dies not with the physical forms in which it was embodied. 

"Ah no! the life they gave 
Is not shut in the grave. 
The valorous spirits freed, 
Live in the vital deed ! 
Marble shall crumble to dust. 

Broken and covered with stains, 
The crossed stone swords must yield ; 
But the great deed remains." 

A building commemorative of the patriotic self-sacrifice 
of these "unreturning brave," begun in 1867, was com- 
pleted and dedicated in the spring of the following year ; 
and extensive improvements upon it are going on as these 
pages pass through the hands of tlie printer. 

SOLDIERS OF THE REBELLION HAVING MEMORIAL STONES 
IN LANCASTER CEMETERIES— 1889. 

NORTH VILLAGE CEMETERY. 

Charles Coolidge, Co. E, 21 M. V. I. Died March 29, 1862, aged 34. 
Franklin Hawkes Farnsworih, Co. C, 15 M. V. I. Killed May 31, 1862, 

aged 19. [Cenotaph.] 
Henry M. Putney. Co. F, 45 M. V. I. Killed April 28, 1863, aged 20. 
James G. True, Co. A, 28 M. V. I. Died November 27, 1863, aged 27. 

[Cenotaph.] 
William Dustin Carr, Co. G, 13 N. H. I. Died of wound June 20, 1864, 

aged 40. 
Edward R. Washburn, Co. I, M. V. I. Died of wound September 5, 1864, 

aged 28. 
George W. Divoll, 7 Battery M. L. A. Died September 21, 1864, aged 

37. [Cenotaph.] 



338 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Francis Washburn, 4 Mass. Cav. Died of wound April 22, 1865, aged 26. 
George D. Weld, Co. K, 47 M. V. I. Died December i, 1865, aged 53. 
Walter C. Rice, Co. I, 53 M. V. I. Died July 30, 1867, aged 45. 
James Montgomery, Co. D, 21 M. V. I. Died January 22, 1870, aged 53. 
William N. Spencer, Co. J, 98 N. Y. Vols. Died March 11, 1871, aged 22. 
Joseph C. Stevens, Surgeon Washington hospital. Died August 7, 1871, 

aged 39. 
George W. Matthews, Co. H, 34 M. V. L Died November 24, 1876, 

aged 29. 
Charles G. Stevens, Asst. Surgeon 19 Maine Vols. Died March i, 1877, 

aged 33. 
George K. Richards, Co. C, 16 M. V. I. Died March 17, 1879, aged 59. 
George A. Foss, Co. I, 44 M. V. I. Died April 16, 1885, aged 43. 

MIDDLE CEMETERY. 

Ebenezer W. Richards, Co. E, 21 M. V. I. Killed December 13, 1862, 

aged 37. [Cenotaph.] 
George Lee Thurston, Co. B, 55 III. V. I. Died December 15, 1862, 

aged 32. 
Horatio Elisha Turner, Co. F, 34 M. V. L Died September 8, 1864, 

aged 20. [Cenotaph.] 
Fred Fordyce Nourse, Co. E, 5 M. V. I. Died September 13, 1864, 

aged 22. 
Horace Worcester, Co. K, 42 M. V. L Died May 22, 1866, aged 22. 
Henry T. Taylor, Co. A, 15 M. V. L Died October 18, 1868, aged 34. 
Charles H. Wilder, Co. I, 53 M. V. 1. Died November 30, 1885, aged 66. 

OLD COMMON CEMETERY. 

John James, Co. I, 53 M. V. I. Died May 25, 1884, aged 42. 

EASTWOOD CEMETERY. 

William L. Cobb, Co. H, 34 M. V. I. Died May 17, 1879, ^S^^ 39- 
Harris C. Harriman, Co. J, 53 M. V. I. Died February 4, 1888, aged 59. 




CAPTAIN GEORGE LEE THURSTON, 



APPENDIX 



I. JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER OF LANCASTER. 

1605-1681. 

rPHE facts that have come down to us whereupon to 
■ build a biography of John Prescott are scanty indeed, 
but enough to prove that he was that rare type of man, the 
ideal pioneer. Not one of the famous frontiersmen, whose 
figures stand out so prominently in early American history, 
was better equipped with the manly qualities that win hero 
worship in a new country, than was the father of the Nash- 
away Plantation. Had Prescott, like Daniel Boone, been 
fortunate in the favor of contemporary historians to perpet- 
uate anecdotes of his daily prowess and fertility of resource, 
or had he left grateful successors withal to keep his mem- 
ory green, his name and romantic adventures would, like 
Boone's, adorn Colonial annals. Persecuted for his opin- 
ions, he went out into the wilderness with his family to 
found a home, and for forty years thought, fought and 
wrought to make that home the centre of a prosperous 
community. Loaded from his first steps with discourage- 
ments that soon appalled every other of the original co- 
partners in the purchase of Nashaway from Showanon, 
Prescott alone held to his purpose, and death found him at 
his post. His grave is in the old burial field at Lancaster, 
yet not ten citizens can point it out. At its head stands a 
rude fragment from some ledge of slate rock, faintly incised 
with characters which few eyes can trace : 

JOHN PRESCOTT DESASED 

No date ! no comment ! That is his only memorial 
stone — his only epitaph in the town of which, for its first 



340 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

forty years, he was the very heart and soul. But this fair 
township — now divided among nine towns — and all it has 
been and is to be, may be justly called his monument. 
The House of Deputies in 1652 voted it to be rightly his, 
and marked it by incorporative enactment with his name — 
Prcscott. Unfortunately, however, some years before this 
he had favored Doctor Robert Childe's criticisms of the 
Colonial system of taxation without representation ; criti- 
cisms that grew, and bore good fruitage when the times 
were riper for individual freedom, when Samuel Adams 
and James Otis took up the peoples' cause where Sir Henry 
Vane and Robert Childe had left it. Therefore when, in 
1652, what had been known as the Nashaway Plantation 
was fairly named for its founder in accordance with the 
petition of its inhabitants, some one of influence, whether 
magistrate or higher official, perhaps bethought himself 
that no Governor of the Colony even had been so honored, 
and that it might be well, before dignifying this busy black- 
smith so much as to name a town for him, to see if he could 
pass examination in the catechism deemed orthodox at that 
date in Massachusetts Bay. Alas ! John Prescott was not 
a freeman. Having a conscience and fixed religious con- 
victions of his own, he had never given public adhesion to 
the established church covenant, and was therefore by law 
debarred from holding any civil office, and even from the 
privilege of voting for the magistrates. There was a 
year's delay, and, in 1653 — ^just after the Rump Parliament 
had disappeared, fleeing the wrath of Cromwell and his 
musketeers — "Prescott" was expunged from the Court's 
grant, and Lancaster began its history. 

As in the broad area of the township various centres of 
population grew into villages and were one by one excised 
and made towns, it would be supposed that each of them 
would have been eager to honor itself by adopting so eu- 
phonious and appropriate a name as Prcscott. But no ! 
The first candidate for a new designation, in 1732, was 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 341 



given the name of the generous Charlestown clergyman, 
Harvard, for no local reason now discoverable. Six years 
later another body corporate appropriated the Lancashire 
name — Bolton. Two years passed and a third district 
sought across the ocean for its title — Leomiiistcr. Then 
Woonksechocksett, forgetful of its benefactors and the sono- 
rous Indian names of its hills and waters, borrowed the title 
of the putative Scotch earl who bravely fought for our inde- 
pendence ; and, in adopting, paid him the poor compliment' 
of misspelling it — Sterling. The next seceder ambitiously 
chose the name of a Prussian city — Berlin. The sixth 
perpetuated its early admiration of the great small-pox in- 
oculator — Boyhton ; and the last was named — for a hotel. 
None so poor as to do Prescott reverence. But surely, it 
would be thought, banks and manufactories, halls or at 
least a fire company might with tardy respect have paid 
cheap tribute to his name by bearing it. Until recently 
only a short street, one having little connection, sentimen- 
tal or real, with the pioneer, bore his name, even in the 
aspiring town, almost a city, of which John Prescott's old 
millstone is the visible foundation — Clinton. 

I have stated that Prescott was an ideal pioneer. Not 
that there was in him anything of kinship to that class of 
frontiersmen now deployed along the outer verge of Amer- 
ican civilization, like the thread of froth stranded along a 
beach outlining the extreme advance made by the last 
wave of the tide. The bibulous gamblers, reckless duel- 
lists, blasphemous savages of mixed blood, the curse of our 
frontier today, had no prototype in Colonial days ; for the 
human harvest then gathered to the stocks, the whipping- 
post and the gallows, was of a far less obtrusive class of 
offenders against morals and social decency. Prescott was 
a Puritan soldier, a seeker of liberty not license ; rebellious 
against tyranny, but no contemner of constituted authority 
or moral law. It was no accident that put him in the ad- 
vance guard of Anglo-Saxon civilization, then just starting 



342 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

on its westward march from the shores of Massachusetts 
Bay. The position had awaited the man. When he set 
up his anvil and with skilful blows hammered out the first 
plough-shares to compel the virgin soil of the Nashaway 
valley to its proper fruitfulness, he was all unwittingly 
helping to forge the destinies of this great republic; — was 
in his humble sphere a true builder of the nation. His 
neighbors and friends, John Tinker, Ralph Houghton, and 
Major Simon Willard, doubtless excelled him in culture, 
but no neighbor surpassed him in natural personal force, 
whether physical, mental or moral. 

Alas ! no contemporary has with pencil or pen limned 
for us the personality of the Nashaway pioneers. Whether 
Prescott was by symmetry of form and comeliness of fea- 
ture a fit figure to grace the pediment of a Grecian temple, 
or was moulded after a much more rugged northern type, 
we do not know. He is now a mere name, bereft by time 
even of ghostly shape and vesture. But his career makes 
us sure that his gifts and traits were those of a born leader 
of men ; that he was well dowered with brain, thew and 
sinew ; was masterful and stirred to restlessness by useful 
energies. We may therefore trust the tradition which fays 
with these facts, telling that he was of commanding stature, 
stern of mien and strong of limb, and had a heart devoid 
of fear, great physical endurance and an unbending will. 
These qualities his savage neighbors early recognized and 
bowed before in deep respect, and because of these no 
Lancaster enterprise but claimed him as its head. His 
manual skill and dexterity must have been great, his men- 
tal capacity and business energy remarkable, for we find 
him not only a farmer, trader, blacksmith and hunter, but 
a surveyor and builder of roads, bridges and mills. The 
records of the town show that he was seldom free from the 
conduct of some public labor. The greatest of his bene- 
factions to his neighbors were his corn-mill erected in 1654, 
and his saw-mill in 1659. No event could rival in its vital 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 343 

interest to every family in that little hamlet the coming of 
the first millstone. Until the miller announced his readi- 
ness to take toll of their grain, every grist had to be borne 
on horse-back to Watertown, nearly thirty miles away, or 
was prepared for bread by fatiguing labor at hand-quern 
and mortar, or made fit for human food by slow, crude 
processes copied from savage life. Before the starting of 
his saw-mill, the rude houses must have been of logs, stone, 
and clay, for it was an impossibility to bring from the lower 
towns, on the existing "Bay road" and with the primitive 
tumbril, any large amount of sawn lumber. 

We have the authority of Camden, the antiquary, writ- 
ing in 1586, that in the northern counties of England many 
of the smaller towns gave names to families having freeholds 
therein. Thus originated the Lancashire names so familiar 
among us : Atherton, Farnsworth, Houghton, More, Rigby 
and Prescott. In West Derby Hundred, about eight miles 
to the eastward from Liverpool, is the very ancient town, 
Prescot, one of fourteen townships forming Prescot parish, 
wherein certain manorial rights were granted by Edward 
in, in 1333, to Sir William de Dacre, then its rector. Its 
name is obviously compounded of two Anglo-Saxon words, 
■preost and cote, hence meaning the priest's dwelling place. 
In the adjoining parish of Standish, John Prescott — the 
youngest son of Ralph and Ellen of the hamlet of Shev- 
ington, and the great-grandson of Sir James Prescot of the 
manor of Dryby — was baptized in 1604/5, the year famed 
in English history for the Gunpowder Plot. It was about 
this time also that William Shakespeare, comedian to King 
James I, retired from the stage. January 21, 1629, being 
then a land-holder of Shevington, Prescott was married to 
Mary Platts at Wigan. Probably within the year he re- 
moved to Sowerby, Halifax parish, in the West Riding of 
Yorkshire, where he lived for about seven years. It has 
often been alleged that he crossed the ocean to escape from 
prelatical tyranny, but this statement may rest upon infer- 



344 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

ence or tradition only, no evidence being given in proof of 
it. If indeed he fled from Anglican bishops, it was an 
irony of fate that he soon found himself subject to the in- 
quisitorial despotism of the Massachusetts Precisians. His 
first haven was Barbadoes, where he is recorded as owning 
lands in 1638. For reasons now unknown that prolific but 
hurricane-swept island did not prove a satisfactory resi- 
dence, and in 1640 Prescott landed in Boston. He at once 
chose a home in Watertown, and became possessor of six 
lots of land, aggregating one hundred and twenty-six 
acres. In 1643 his name is associated with those of Tho- 
mas King of Watertown, Henry Symonds of Boston, and 
others, the first proprietors of the Nashaway purchase. 

Of Prescott's wife we know only her name ; but her 
daughters were sought for in marriage by men of whom 
we know nothing that is not praiseworthy ; and her sons all 
honored their mother's memory by useful and unblemished 
lives. His children were eight in number, and all were 
married in due season. They were : 

1. Mary, baptized at Halifax Parish, February 24, 
1630, married Thomas Sawyer in 1648. The bridegroom 
was fourteen years older than his young bride. The couple 
selected their home lot adjoining Prescott's in Lancaster, 
and there eleven sons and daughters were born to them. 
The husband died September 12, 1706, his wife surviving 
him several years. 

2. Martha, baptized at Halifax Parish, March 11, 1632, 
married John Rugg in 1655 ; and these twain began life 
together in sight of her paternal home in Lancaster. She 
died with her twin babes in January, 1656. 

3. John, baptized at Halifax Parish, April i, 1635, 
married Sarah Hayward at Lancaster, November 11, 1668, 
and had five children. He was a farmer and blacksmith, 
lived with his father, and succeeded him at the mills. 

4. Sarah, baptized in 1637, at Halifax Parish, mar- 
ried Richard Wheeler at Lancaster, August 2, 1658, and 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 345 

lived in the immediate vicinity of those before named. 
Wheeler was killed in the massacre of February lo, 1676, 
and the widowed Sarah married Joseph Rice of Marlbo- 
rough. By her first husband she probably had eight chil- 
dren. 

5. Hannah was probably born at Barbadoes in 1639. 
She became the second wife of John Rugg, May 4, 1660, 
and had eight children. She lost her husband by death, 
January, 1697, and was slain by the Indians in the massa- 
cre of September 11, 1697. 

6. Lydia, born at Watertown, August 15, 1641, mar- 
ried Jonas Fairbank at Lancaster, May 28, 1658. He 
owned the lands next south of Prescott's home. Fairbank 
had seven children. In the massacre of February 10, 1676, 
he and his son Joshua were victims. The widowed Lydia 
married Elias Barron. 

7. Jonathan — if twenty three years old in 1670, as an 
unknown authority has noted, or "about 38," November 6, 
1683, as stated in a deposition of that date — was probably 
born in Lancaster between 1645 and 1647. He was a 
blacksmith and farmer, and married first Dorothy, August 
3, 1670, in Lancaster. She died in 1674, leaving a son 
Samuel, noted in the town history as the unfortunate senti- 
nel who, on November 6, 1704, killed by mistake his 
neighbor, the beloved minister of Lancaster, Reverend 
Andrew Gardner. Jonathan Prescott married second, 
Elizabeth, daughter of John Hoar of Concord, who died 
in 1687, leaving six children. Jonathan's third wife was 
Rebecca Bulkeley, and his fourth Ruth, widow of Thomas 
Brown. He did not reside in Lancaster after the massacre 
of 1676, but became an influential citizen of Concord, 
which he served as representative for nine years. He died 
December 5, 1721. His grandson John was commander 
of the Massachusetts men who served in the expedition 
against Carthagena in 1740. 

8. Jonas, born June, 1648, in Lancaster, married Mary 
23 



346 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Loker of Sudbury, December 14, 1672. The marriage 
took place in Lancaster, and here their first child was born 
— they had twelve children in all — but later they removed 
to Groton, v^here Jonas became captain, selectman and jus- 
tice. He died in Groton, December 31, 1723. Of his 
most illustrious descendants were Colonel William, and the 
historian WilHam H. Prescott. 

In May, 1644, John Winthrop records that "Many of 
Watertown and other towns joined in a plantation at Nash- 
away" — and Reverend Timothy Harrington in his Century 
Sermon states that the organization of this company of 
planters was due to Thomas King. The immediate and 
final disappearance of this original proprietor has seemed 
to our historians good warrant for charging that King and 
his partner, Henry Symonds, were but land speculators, 
who bought the Indians' inheritance to retail by the acre to 
adventurers. I believe this an unjust assumption. At the 
date when Winthrop recorded the inception of the Nasha- 
way Company, Henry Symonds had already been dead 
seven months. He was that energetic contractor of Boston 
noted as the leader in the project for establishing tide mills 
at the Cove, and was no doubt the capitalist of the trading 
firm, Symonds & King, who set up their "trucking house" 
as early as 1643 on the sunny slope of George Hill. Sy- 
monds's widow, a few months after his death, married Isaac 
Walker, who in 1645 was active among the Nashaway pro- 
prietors. If King sold his share of the Indian purchase, 
may it not have been therefore because, his senior partner 
being dead, he had no means to continue the enterprise? 
He too died before the end of the year 1644, not yet thirty 
years of age. The inventory of his estate sums but one 
hundred and fifty-eight pounds, including his house and 
land in Watertown, his stock in trade, and seventy-three 
pounds of debts due him from the Indians, John Prescott, 
and sundry others. King's widow made haste to be con- 
soled, and her second husband, James Cutler, soon appears 
in the role of a Nashaway proprietor. 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 347 

The direction of the company was at the outset in the 
hands of men whose names were, or soon became, of some 
note throughout the Colony. Doctor Robert Childe, a 
scholar who had won the degrees of A. M. and M. D. at 
Cambridge and Padua, a man of scientific acquirements, 
but inclined to somewhat sanguine expectations of mineral 
treasure to be discovered in the New England hills, seems 
to have been a leading spirit in the adventure ; and unfor- 
tunately so, since his views about certain inalienable rights 
of man, which now live and are honored in the Constitu- 
tion of the Commonwealth, naturally seemed vicious repub- 
licanism to the ecclesiastical aristocracy then ruling the 
Colony of the Massachusetts Bay ; and the odium that 
drove Childe across the ocean, attached also to his com- 
panion planters, and perhaps through the prejudice of those 
in authority unfavorably affected for several years the pro- 
gress of the settlement on the Nashaway. Certainly such 
prejudice found expression in all action or record of the 
government respecting the proprietors and their petitions. 
The ecclesiastical figure-head of the company — without 
which no body corporate could have grace with the Colony 
— was Nathaniel Norcross. Of him, if we can surmise 
aught from his early return to England, it may be said that 
he was not imbued with the martyr's spirit, and his defec- 
tion was, some time later, more than made good by the 
accession of the beloved Rowlandson. But far more im- 
portant to the enterprise than these two graduates from the 
English University — Childe the radical, and Norcross the 
preacher — were two mechanics, the restless planners and 
busy promoters of the company, both workers in iron — 
Steven Day the locksmith, and John Prescott the black- 
smith. Steven Day was the first in America, north of 
Mexico, to set up a printing-press. The Colony had 
wisely recognized in him a public benefactor, and sealed 
this recognition by substantial grant of lands. He entered 
upon the Nashaway scheme with characteristic zeal and 



348 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

energy, if we may believe his own manuscript testimony ; 
but Day's zeal outran his discretion, and his energy de- 
voured his scant means, for in 1644 we find him in jail for 
debt, remonstrating piteously against the injustice of a 
hard-hearted creditor. He parted with all rights at Nash- 
away before many years, and finally delved as a journey- 
man at the press he had founded. 

John Prescott, deserted by all his early co-partners, was 
sufficient for the emergency, a host in himself. He sells 
his one hundred and twenty-six acres and house at Water- 
town, puts his all into the venture, prepares a rude dwell- 
ing in the wilderness, moves thither his cattle, and chattels, 
and finally, mounting wife and children and his few re- 
maining goods upon horses' backs, bids his old neighbors 
good-bye, and threads the narrow Indian trail through the 
forest westward. The scorn of men high in authority is 
to follow him, but now the most formidable enemy in his 
path is the swollen Sudbury River and its bordering marsh. 
We find the aristocratic scorn mingling with the story of 
Prescott's dearly bought victory over this natural obstacle, 
told in Winthrop's History of New England among what 
the author classes as remarkable special providences : 

Prescot another favorer of the Petitioners lost a horse and his loading 
in Sudbury river, and a week after his wife and children being upon an- 
other horse were hardly saved from drowning. 

That the kindly-hearted Winthrop could coolly charge 
the pitiable disaster of the brave pioneer to the wrath of 
God towards the Erastian liberality or suspected Presbyte- 
rianism of Robert Childe and his associate petitioners, 
pictures vividly the bigotry natural to the age and race, a 
bigotry which culminated in the horrors of the persecution 
for witchcraft. This Sudbury swamp was the lion in the 
path from the bay westward during many a decade. In 
1645, an earnest petition went up to the council from Pres- 
cott and his associates, complaining that much time and 
means had been spent in discovering Nashaway and pre- 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 349 

paring for the settlement there, and that on account of the 
lack of bridge and causeway at the Sudbury River, the 
proprietors could not pass to and from the bay towns — 
"without exposing our persons to perill and our cattell and 
goods to losse and spoyle ; as yo'' petitioners are able to 
make prooft'e of by sad experience of what wee suflered 
there within these few dayes." The General Court ordered 
the bridge and way to be made "passable for loaden horse," 
and allowed twenty pounds to Sudbury, "so it be donne 
w"'in a twelve monthe." The twelve months passed and 
no bridge spanned the stream. That the dangers and diffi- 
culties of the passage were not exaggerated by the peti- 
tioners is proven by the fact that more than one hundred 
years afterwards the bridge and causeway at this place, 
"half a mile long," were represented to the General Court 
as dangerous, and in time of floods impassable. Between 
1759 ^^^ 1761, the proceeds of special lotteries amounting 
to twelve hundred and twenty-seven pounds were expended 
in the improvement of the crossing. 

John Winthrop, writing of the Nashaway planters, tells 
us that "he whom they had called to be their minister 
[Norcross] left them for their delays," but omits mention 
of the fact recorded by the planters themselves in their 
petition, that the chief and sufficient cause of their slow 
progress was the inability or unwillingness of the Governor 
and magistrates to afford effective aid in providing a passa- 
ble way, even for horsemen, over a small river. 

Prescott, at least, was chargeable with no delay. By 
June, 1645, he and his family had become permanent resi- 
dents on the Nashaway. Richard Linton, Lawrence Wa- 
ters the carpenter, and John Ball the tailor, were his only 
neighbors ; these three men having been sent up to build, 
plant, and prepare for the coming of other immigrants. 
But two houses had been built. Linton probably lived 
with his son-in-law. Waters, in his home near the fording 
place in the North Branch of the Nashaway, contiguous 



350 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

to the lot of intervale land which Harmon Garrett and oth- 
ers of the first proprietors had fenced in to serve as a night 
pasture for their cattle. Ball had left his children and their 
mother in Watertown, she being at times insane. Prescott's 
first lot embraced part of the grounds upon which the pub- 
lic buildings in Lancaster now stand, but this he soon 
parted with, and took up his abode a mile to the south-west, 
on the sunny slope of George Hill, where, beside a little 
brooklet of pure, cool water, which then doubtless came 
rollicking down over its gravelly bed with twice the flow it 
has today, there had been built, two years at least before, 
the trucking house of Symonds & King. This trading 
post was the extreme outpost of civilization ; beyond was 
interminable forest, traversed only by the Indian trails, 
which were but narrow paths hard to find and easy to lose 
unless the traveller had been bred to the arts of wood-craft. 
Here passed the united trails from Washacum, Wachusett, 
Quaboag and other Indian villages of the west, leading to 
the wading place of the Nashaway River near the present 
Atherton Bridge, and so down the Bay Path over Wata- 
quadock to Concord. The little plateau half way down 
the sheltering hill, with fertile fields sloping to the south- 
east and its never failing springs, was and is an attractive 
spot ; but its material advantages to the pioneer of 1645 
were far greater than those apparent to the Lancastrian of 
this nineteenth century in the changed conditions of life. 
With the privilege of first choice therefore, it is not strange 
that Prescott and his sturdy sons-in-law grasped the rich 
intervales, and warm, easily-tilled slopes, stretching along 
the Nashaway south branch from the meeting of the waters 
to John's Jump on the east, and extending west to the crown 
of George Hill — lands now covered by the village of South 
Lancaster. 

In 1650 John Prescott found himself the only member 
of the company resident at Nashnway. Of the co-parlners, 
Symonds, King and John Hill were dead ; Norcross and 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 351 

Childe had gone to England ; Cowdall had sold his rights 
to Prescott ; Chandler, Davis, Walker and others had for- 
mally abandoned their rights ; Garrett, Shawe, Day, Ad- 
ams, and perhaps two or three more, retained their claims 
to allotments, making no improvements and contributing 
nothing by their presence or tithes to the growth of the 
settlement, thus becoming effectual stumbling blocks in the 
way of progress. Prescott, very reasonably, held this a 
grievance, and, having no other means of redress, asked 
equitable judgment in the matter from the magistrates in a 
petition which cannot be found. His answer was the fol- 
lowing official snub : 

Whereas John Prescot & others, the inhabitants of Nashaway pferd a 
petition to this Courte desiringe power to recover all common charges of 
all such as had land there, not residinge w"' them, for answer whereunto 
this Court, understandinge that the place before mentioned is not fit to 
make a plantation, (so a ministry to be erected and mayntayned there,) 
which if the petitioners, before the end of the next session of this Courte, 
shall not sufficiently make the sey'd place appeare to be capable to answer 
the ends above mentioned doth order that the pties inhabitinge there 
shalbe called there hence, & sutTered to live without the meanes, as they 
have done no longer. 

This dire threat of the closing sentence may have been 
simply "sound and fury, signifying nothing," or Prescott 
may have been able to prove to the authorities that Nasha- 
way was fit and waiting for its St, John, but found none 
willing for the service. In fact, its St. John was then a 
junior at Harvard College writing a pasquinade to post 
upon the Ipswich meeting-house, and Nashaway was "suf- 
fered to live without the meanes" waiting for him until 1654. 

John Prescott retained ownership of his early home — 
the site of the trucking house which he had purchased of 
John Cowdall — as long as he lived, but did not reside there 
many years. No sooner had the plantation attained the 
dignity of a town under the classic name of Lancaster, 
than its founder bent all his energies towards those enter- 
prises best calculated to promote the comfort and prosperity 
of its then inhabitants, and to attract by material advantages 



352 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

a desirable and permanent immigration. His practical eye 
had doubtless long before marked the best site for a mill in 
all the region round about, and on the slope scarce a gun 
shot away he set up a new home, afterwards well known 
to friend and savage foe as Prescott's Garrison. Those 
who remain of the generation familiar with this region be- 
fore the invention of the power loom made such towns as 
Clinton possible, remember the depression that told where 
Prescott dug his cellar. The oldest water mill in New 
England was scarce twenty years old when Prescott con- 
tracted to grind the corn of the Nashaway planters. His 
"Covenant to build a Corne mill" has been preserved 
through a copy made by Ralph Houghton, Lancaster's first 
Clerk of Writs, and is as follows : 

Know all men by these presents that I John Prescott blackesmith, hath 
Covenanted and bargained with Jno. ffounell of Charlestowne for the build- 
ing of a Corne mill, within the said Towne of Lanchaster. This witness- 
eth that wee the Inhabitants of Lanchaster for his encouragement in so 
good a worke for the behoofe of our Towne, vpon condition that the said 
intended worke by him or his assignes be finished, do freely and fully giue, 
grant, enfeoffe, & confirme vnto the said John Prescott, thirty acres of in- 
tervale Land lying on the north riuer, lying north west of Henry Kerly, 
and ten acres of Land adjoyneing to the mill ; and forty acres of Land on 
the south east of the mill brooke and Nashaway riuer in such place as the 
said John Prescott shall choose with all the priuiledges and appurtenances 
thereto apperteyneing. To haue and to hold the said land and eurie par- 
cell thereof to the said John Prescott his heyres & assignes for euer, to 
his and their only propper vse and behoofe. Also wee do couenant & 
promise to lend the said John Prescott fiue pounds in current money one 
yeare for the buying of Irons for the mill. And also wee do couenant and 
grant to and with the said John Prescott his heyres and assignes that the 
said mill, with all the aboue named Land thereto apperteyneing shall be 
freed from all common charges for seuen yeares next ensueing, after the first 
finishing and setting the said mill to worke. 

In witnes whereof wee haue herevnto put our hands this 20th day of 
the gmo. In the yeare of our Lord God one thousand six hundred fifty and 
three. Thomas James 

WiLL^i Kerly Senr. Lawrence Waters 
Jno Prescott Edmund Parker 

Jno White, Richard Linton, 

Ralph Houghton Richard Smith 

Jno Lewis James Atherton 

Jacob Farrer Will" Kerly Jun^. 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 353 

In six months from that date the mill was done, and 
Prescott "began to grind corne the 23d day of the 3 mo, 
1654." 

The commissioners appointed by the General Court to 
oversee the prudential management of the town, met at 
John Prescott's, in 1657, and confirmed "the imunityes pro- 
vided for" in the above covenant, specifying that they 
"should continue and remayne to him the said Jno. Pres- 
cott his hey res and assignes vntil the 23d of May, in the 
yeare of our Lord sixteen hundred sixty and two." 

The corn mill was located a little low^er upon the brook 
than the extensive factory buildings now utilizing its water 
power. The half-used force of the rapid stream and the 
giant pines of the virgin forest then shadowing all the re- 
gion about were full of reproach to the restless miller. 
His busy brain was soon planning a new benefaction to his 
fellow-citizens, and, when his means grew sufficiently to 
warrant the enterprise, his busy hands wrought its consum- 
mation. As before, a formal agreement preceded the 
work : 

Know all men by these presents that for as much as the Inhabitants of 
Lanchaster, or the most part of tliem being gathered together on a trayne- 
ing day, the isth of the 9*''mo, 1658, a motion was made by Jno. Prescott 
blackesmith of the same towne, about the setting vp of a saw mill for the 
good of the Towne, and y' he the said Jno Prescott, would by the help of 
God set vp the saw mill, and to supply the said Inhabitants with boords 
and other sawne worke, as is afforded at other saw mills in the countrey. 
In case the Towne would giue, grant, and confirme vnto the said John 
Prescott, a certeine tract of Land, lying Eastward of his water mill, be it 
more or less, bounded by the riuer east, the mill west the stake of the mill 
land and the east end of a ledge of Iron Stone Rocks southards, and forty 
acres of his owne land north, the said land to be to him his heyres and 
assignes for euer, and all the said land eurie part thereof to be rate free 
vntill it be improued, or any p' of it, and that his saws, & saw mill should 
be free from any rates by the Towne, therefore know ye that the ptyes 
abouesaid did mutually agree and consent each with the other concerning 
the aforementioned propositions as followcth : 

The towne on their part did giue, grant & confirme, vnto the said John 
Prescott his heyres and assignes for euer, all the aforementioned tract of 



354 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

land butted & bounded as aforesaid, to be to him his heyres and assignes 
for euer with all the priuiledges and appurtenances thereon, and therevnto 
belonging to be to his and then- ovvne propper vse and behoofe as afore- 
said, and the land and eurie part of it to be free from all rates vntil it or 
any pt of it be improued, and also his saw, sawes, and saw-mill to be free 
from all towne rates, or ministers rates, prouided the aforementioned 
worke be finished & compleated as abouesaid for the good of the Towne, 
in some convenient time after this present contract covenant and agreem^ 

And the said John Prescott did and doth by these psents bynd himself, 
his heyres and assignes to set vp a saw-mill as aforesaid within the bounds 
of the aforesaid Towne, and to supply the Towne with boords and other 
sawne worke as aforesaid and truly and faithfully to performe, fuilfill, & 
accomplish, all the aforementioned p'misses for the good of the Towne as 
aforesaid. 

Therefore the Selectmen conceiuing this saw-mill to be of great vse to 
the Towne, and the after good of the place, Haue and do hereby act to 
rattifie and confirme all the aforementioned acts, covenants, gifts, grants, 
& im'unityes, in respect of rates, and what euer is aforementioned, on 
their owne pt, and in behalfe of the Towne, and to the true performance 
hereof, both partyes haue and do bynd themselves by subscribing their 
hands, this twenty-fifth day of February, one thousand six hundred and 
fifty nine. John Prescott 

The worke aboue mencconed was finished according to this covenant 
as witnesseth Ralph Houghton 

Signed & Delivr'^ Thomas Wilder 

In presence of Thomas Sawyer 

Ralph Houghton 

Monday, the seventeenth of February, 1659, "the Com- 
pany granted him to fall pines on the Com'ons to supply 
his saw-mill." 

In April, 1659, Ensign Noyes came to make oflicial 
survey of the eighty square miles granted to the town, and 
John Prescott was deputed by the townsmen at their March 
meeting to aid him and " mark the bounds." Among his 
varied accomplishments natural and acquired, Prescott 
seems to have had some practical skill in surveying, the 
laying out of highways and the construction of bridges. 
In 1648 John Winthrop records: "This year a new way 
was found out to Connecticut b}' Nashua which avoided 
much of the hilly way." As appears by a later petition 
Prescott was the pioneer of this new path. In 1657 he 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 355 



was appointed by the government a member of a commit- 
tee upon the building of bridges "at Billirriky and Mis- 
ticke." In 1658 he, with his son-in-hiw Jonas Fairbank, 
was appointed to survey a farm of six hundred and fifty 
acres for Captain Richard Davenport, the western part of 
which is now the most densely peopled portion of West 
Boylston. 

To the General Court which met October 18, 1659, ^'^^ 
following petition was presented : 

The humble petition of John Prescot of Lancaster huniblye Sheweth, 
That whereas yr petitioner about nine or ten yeares since, was desired by 
the late hon'red Governour Mr. Winthrop, w"' other Magistrates, as also 
by Mr. Wilson of Boston, Mr. Shephard of Cambridge with many others, 
did lay & marke out a way at ye north syde of the great pond & soe by 
Lancaster, which then was taken by Mr. Hopkins & many others to bee of 
great vse ; This I did meerly vpon the request of these honored gentlemen, 
to my great detrim't, by being vpon it part of two summers not only my- 
selfe but hiring others alsoe to helpe mee, whereby my family suffered 
much : I doe not question but many of ye Court remember the same, as 
alsoe that this hath not laine dead all this while, but I haue formerly men- 
tioned it, but yet haue noe recompence for the same ; the charge whereof 
came at 2'' p day to about 10' ; it is therefore the desire of y'' petitioner y' 
you would bee pleased to grant him a farme in some place vndisposed of 
which will engage him to you and encourage him and others in publicque 
occasions & y'' petitioner shall pray etc. 

One hundred acres of land were granted him, and laid 
out near the Washacum ponds where now stand the rail- 
road buildings at Sterling Junction. 

We get very few glimpses of Prescott from the meagre 
records of succeeding years, but those serve to show that 
he was busy, prosperous and annually honored by his 
neighbors with the public duties for which his sturdy integ- 
rity, shrewd business tact and wisely directed energy pecul- 
iarly fitted him. He had taken the oath of fidelity in 1652. 
Such owning of allegiance was by law prerequisite to the 
holding of real estate. Refusing such oath he might bet- 
ter have been a Nipmuck so far as civil rights or privileges 
were concerned. He was not yet a member of the recog- 
nized church, however, and therefore lacked the political 



35^ ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

dignities of a freeman ; although his intimate relations 
with Master Joseph Rowlandson, and his personal connec- 
tion with the earlier cases of church discipline in Lancas- 
ter, sufficiently attest the austerity of his religious views. 
Doubtless Governor John Winthrop, in his hasty and harsh 
dictum respecting the Nashaway planters, classed John 
Prescott among those "corrupt in judgment." But it must 
be remembered that in the Puritan's visionary common- 
wealth — republican as it was in theory — there was no 
room for liberty of conscience. All were esteemed corrupt 
in judgment or even profane, whose religious beliefs, when 
tested all about by the ecclesiastic callipers, proved not to 
have been cast in the doctrinal mould prescribed by the 
self-sanctified founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
No known fact in any way warrants even the conjecture 
that Prescott was not a sincere Christian, earnestly pursu- 
ing his own convictions of duty without fear and without 
reproach. The doubts and dogmas by which his soul was 
bound are voiceless to us, and could they be brought to 
light would seem to the modern mind but dead ashes and 
dross. 

Prescott's mechanical skill and business ability had 
more than a local reputation. In 1667, we find him con- 
tracting with the authorities of Groton to erect " a good and 
sufficient corne mill or mills, and the same to finish so as 
may be fitting to grind the corne of the said Towne." For 
the fulfilment of this agreement he received five hundred 
and twenty acres of land, and mill and lands were exempted 
from taxation for twenty years. Assistance towards the 
building of the mill was also promised to the amount of 
"two days worke of a man for every house lott or family 
within the limitts of the said Towne, and at such time or 
times to be done or performed, as the said John Prescott 
shall see meete to call for the same, vpon reasonable notice 
given." The covenant was fulfilled by the completion of 
a mill at Nonacoiacus, then in the southern part of Groton. 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 357 

The mill site is now in Harvard. Prescott's youngest son, 
Jonas, was the first miller. The history of the old mill is 
obscured by the shadows of two hundred years, but a 
bright gleam of romantic tradition concerning the first 
miller is warm with human interest now. Perhaps at points 
the romantic may infringe upon the historic, but 

Se noil c vcro, 

E ben trovato. 
Down by the green meadows of Sudbury there dwelt a 
bewitchingly fair maiden, the musical dissyllables of whose 
name were often upon the lips of the young men in all the 
country round about, and whose smile could awaken voice- 
less poetry in the heart of the most prosaic Puritan swain. 
There is little of aristocratic sound in Mary Loker's name, 
but her parents sat on Sunday at the meeting-house in a 
"dignified" pew, and were rich in fields and cattle. Wheth- 
er pushed by pride of land or pride of birth, in their plans 
and aspirations this daughter was predestinated by them to 
enhance the family dignity by an aristocratic alliance. In 
Colonial days a maiden who added a liandsome prospec- 
tive dowry to lier personal witchery was rare indeed, and 
Mary Loker had, coming from far and near, inflammable 
suitors perpetually burning at her shrine. From among 
these the father and mother soon made their choice upon 
strictl}^ business principles, and shortly announced to Mary 
that a certain ambitious gentleman of the legal profession 
had furnished the most satisfactory credentials, and that 
nothing remained but for her to name tlie day. Now the 
fourth commandment was very far from being the dead let- 
ter in 1670 that it is in 1889, and it was matter for grave 
surprise to the elders that their usually obedient daughter, 
when the lawyer proceeded to plead, refused to hear and 
peremptorily adjourned his cause without day. Maternal 
expostulation and paternal threats availed nothing. The 
because of Mary's contumacy was not far to seek. A stal- 
wart Vulcan in the guise of Antinous, known as Jonas 



358 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

Prescott, had wandered from his father's forge in Lancaster 
down the Bay Path to Sudbury. Mary and he had met, 
and the lingering of their parting boded ill for any predes- 
tination not stamped with their joint seal of consent. With 
that lack of astuteness proverbially exhibited by parents 
disappointed in match-making designs upon their children, 
the vexed father and mother began a course of vigorous 
repression, and thereby riveted more firmly than ever the 
chains which the errant young blacksmith and his appren- 
tice Cupid had forged. In due time, they perforce learned 
that love's flame burns the brighter fed upon a bread and 
water diet ; and that confinement to an attic may be quite 
endurable when Cupid's messages fly in and out of its lat- 
tice at pleasure. 

Finally Mary was secretly sent to an out-of-the-way- 
neighborhood in the vain hope that the chill of absence 
might hinder what home rule had only served to help. But 
one day Jonas on a hunting excursion made the acquaint- 
ance of some youth, who, among other chitchat, happened 
to break into ecstatic praise of the graces of a certain fair 
damsel who had recently come to live in a farm-house near 
their home. Of course the anvil missed Jonas for the next 
day, and the next, and the next, while he experienced the 
hospitalities of his new-found friends — and their neigh- 
bors. It was time for a recognition of the inevitable by all 
concerned, but when, and with what grace Mary's stubborn 
parents yielded, if at all, is not recorded. But what mat- 
tered their consent? Old John Prescott installed Jonas at 
the Nonacoicus Mill and endowed him with all his Groton 
lands, and in Lancaster, December 4, 1672, Jonas and 
Mary were married. For over fifty years fortune smiled 
upon their union. Four sons and eight daughters graced 
their fireside, and the father was trusted and clothed with 
local dignities. In after time the memory of Jonas and 
Mary has been honored by many worthy descendants, and 
especially by the gallant services of Colonel William Pres- 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 359 

cott at Bunker Hill, and the literary renown of William 
Hickling Prescott, the historian. 

In 1669, John Prescott was proclaimed a freeman. He 
may have been long a church member, or may not even at 
this date have yielded the conscientious scruples that had a 
quarter of a century earlier subjected him to Winthrop's 
reproach. The laws, in reluctant obedience to the letter of 
Charles H, dated June 28, 1662, were so modified by the 
General Court of 1664, that citizens, although not "mem- 
bers of some Church of Christ and in full Communion," if 
freeholders of a sutlicient estate and guaranteed by the 
local minister "to be Orthodox in Religion and not vicious 
in their lives," might be admitted to the freedom of the 
commonwealth by a majority vote in the General Court. 

Prescott had the true Englishman's love of landed pos- 
sessions, and about this time added a large tract to his 
acreage by purchase from his Indian neighbors. This 
transaction gave cause for the following petition, in the 
terse, straight-forward diction and the dignified tone of 
which, we may, I think, read something of its author's 
character : 

To the Jioiwrablc the Gov'', the Deputy Gov. iiiagts Qr" Deputyes assetiibled 
in the ge wall Court : 

The Petition of Jno Prescott of Lanchaster, In most humble wise shew- 
eth. Whereas ye Petition'' hath purchased an Indian right to a small par- 
cell of Land, occasioned and circumstanced for quantity & cjuality accord- 
ing to the deed of sale herevnto annexed and a pt. thereof not being legally 
setled vpon mee vnlesse I may obteyne the favo'' of this Court for the Con- 
firmation thereof, These are humbly to request the Court's favo"^ for that 
end ; the Lord hauing dealt graciously with mee in glueing mee many chil- 
dren I account it my duty to endeauor their provission & setling and do 
hope that this may be of some vse in yt kind. I know not any claime 
made to the said land by any towne, or any legall right yt any other per- 
sons haue therein, and therefore are free for mee to occupy &; subdue as 
any other, may I obteyne the Court's approbation. I shall not vse further 
motiues, my condition in other respecks & w' my trouble & expenses haue 
been according to my poor ability in my place being not altogether vn- 
knowne to some of ye Court. That ye Lord's p'^sence may be with & his 
blessing accompany all yo"" psons, Counsells, & endeauo'^s for his honor &. 
ye weale of his poor people is ye pray'' of 

Yo'' suppliant, John Prescott Sen"* 



360 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

This request was referred to a special committee com- 
posed of Edward Tyng, George Corwin and Humphrey 
Davie, who reported as follows : 

In Refference to this Petition the Comittee being well informed that 
the Pet'' is an ancient Planter and hath bin a vseful helpfull and publique 
spirited man doinge many good offices ffor the Country, Relatinge to the 
Road to Conecticott, marking trees, directinge of Passengers &c, and that 
the Land Petitioned for beinge but about 107 Acres & Lyinge not very 
Convenient for any other Plantation, and only accomodable for the Pet% 
we judge it reasonable to confirme the Indian Grant to him & his heyres 
if ye honored Court see meete. 

This report was approved by the magistrates May 29, 
1672. James Wiser alias Quanapaug, the Christian Nash- 
away chief who appears as grantor of the land, was a 
warrior whose bravery had been tested in the contest be- 
tween the Nipmucks and the Mohawks, and was so firm a 
friend of his white neighbors at Lancaster, that when 
Philip persuaded the tribe with Sagamore Sam to go upon 
the war path, James refused to join them. He even served 
as a spy and betrayed Philip's plans to the English at great 
risk of his life, doing his utmost to save Lancaster from 
destruction. General Daniel Gookin acknowledged that 
Quanapaug's information would have averted the dire mas- 
sacre of February 10, 1676, had it been duly heeded. The 
fact of the friendly relations existing between Prescott and 
the tribe whose fortified residence stood between the two 
Washacum ponds is interesting, and confirms tradition. It 
is related that at his first coming he soon won the respect 
of the savages, not only by his fearlessness and great 
strength, but by the power of his eye and his dignity of 
mien. They soon learned to stand in awe of his long 
musket and unerring skill as a marksman. He had no 
doubt seen some military service in England, for he came 
of a soldierly race, his great-grandfather having been 
knighted for gallantry in battle. He had brought with 
him from England a suit of mail — helmet and cuirass — 
probably such as were worn by the soldiers of Cromwell. 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 361 

Clothed with these, his stately figure seemed to the sons of 
the forest something almost superhuman. One day some 
Indians, having taken away a horse of his, he put on his 
armor, pursued them alone, and soon overtook them. The 
chief of the party seeing him approach unsupported, met 
him menacingly with uplifted tomahawk. Prescott dared 
him to strike and was immediately taken at his word, but 
the rude weapon glanced harmless from the hemlet, to the 
amazement of the red men. Naturally the Indian desired 
to try upon his own head so wonderful a hat, and the owner 
obligingly gratified him, claiming the privilege, however, 
of using the tomahawk in return. The helmet proving a 
scant fit or its wearer neglecting to bring it down to its 
proper bearings, Prescott's vengeful blow not only astound- 
ed him, but left very little cuticle on either side of his head 
and nearly deprived him of ears. Prescott was permitted 
to jog home in peace upon his horse. 

After hostilities began, it is said that at one time the 
savages set fire to his barn, but fled when he sallied out 
clad in armor with his dreaded gun ; and thus he was en- 
abled to save his stock, though the building was consumed. 
More than once attempts were made to destroy the mill, 
but a sight of the man in mail with the far reaching gun 
was enough to send them to a safe distance and rescue the 
property. Many stories have been told of Prescott's prow- 
ess, but some bear so close a resemblance to those credibly 
historic in other places and of other heroes, that there at- 
taches to them some suspicion of adaptation at least. Such 
undoubtedly is the story that in the assault upon the town 
"he had several muskets but no one in the house save his 
wife to assist him. She loaded the guns and he discharged 
them with fatal effect. The contest continued for nearly 
half an hour, Mr. Prescott all the while giving orders as if 
to soldiers, so loud that the Indians could hear him, to load 
their muskets, though he had no soldiers but his wife. At 
length they withdrew, carrying off several of their dead 
and wounded." 
24 



362 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

In 1673 Prescott had nearly attained the age of three 
score and ten. The weight of years that had been full of 
exposure, anxiety and toil rested heavily upon even his 
rugged frame, and some sharp touch of bodily ailment 
warning him of his mortality, he made his will. It is 
signed with his mark, although he evidently tried to force 
his unwilling hand to its accustomed work, his peculiar J 
being plainly written and followed by characters meant for 
the other letters of his first name. To earlier documents 
he was wont to affix a simple, neat signature, and although 
not a clerkly penman like his friends John Tinker, Master 
Joseph Rowlandson and Ralph Houghton, his writing is 
superior to that of Major Simon Willard. 

JOHN PRESCOTT's WILL. 

Theis presents witneseth that John Prescott of Lancaster in the Coun- 
tie of Midlesex in New England Blaksmith being vnder the sencible de- 
cayes of nature and infirmities of old age and at present vnder a great 
deale of anguish and paine but of a good and sound memorie at the writ- 
ing hereof being moved vpon considerations aforesaid togather with advis 
of Christian friends to set his house in order in Reference to the dispose 
of those outward good things the lord in mercie hath betrusted him with, 
theirfore the said John Prescott doth hereby declare his last will and testa- 
ment to be as followeth, first and cheifly Comiting and Comending his 
soule to almightie god that gaue it him and his bodie to the comon bury- 
ing place here in Lancaster, and after his bodie being orderly and decently 
buryed and the charge theirof defrayed togather with all due debts dis- 
charged, the Rest of his Lands and estate to be disposed of as followeth : 
first in Reference to the Comfortable being of his louing wife during the 
time of her naturall Life, it is his will that his said wife haue that end of 
the house where he and shee now dwelleth togather with halfe the pasture 
and halfe the fruit of the aple trees and all the goods in the house, togath- 
er with two cowes which shee shall Chuse and medow sufisiant for winter- 
ing of them, out of the medowes where she shall Chuse, the said winter 
pvision for the two cowes to be equaly and seasonably pvided by his two 
sons John and Jonathan. And what this may fall short in Reference to 
convenient food and cloathing and other nesesaries for her comfort in 
sickness and in health, to be equaly pvided by the aforesaid John and Jon- 
athan out of the estate. And at the death of his aforesaid louing wife it 
is his will that the said cowes and household goods be equally deuided 
betwene his two sons aforesaid, and the other part of the dwelling house, 
out housing, pasture and orchard togather with the tenn acres of house 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. ^6;^ 

lott lying on Georges hill which was purchased of daniell gains to be 
equaly deuided betwene the said John and Jonathan and alsoe that part of 
the house and outhousing what is Convenient for the two Cowes and their 
winter pvision pasture and orchard willed to his louing wife during her life, 
at her death to be equaly deuided alsoe betwene the said John and Jona- 
than. And furthermore it is his will that John Prescott his eldest son 
haue the Intervaile land at John's Jumpe, the lower Mille and the land be- 
longing to it and halfe the saw mille and halfe the land belonging to it and 
all the house and barne theire erected, and alsoe the house and farme at 
Washacomb pond, and all the land their purchased from the Indians and 
halfe the medowes in all deuisions in the towne acept sum litle part at bar 
hill wh. is after willed to James Sawyer and one halfe of the Comon Right 
in the towne, and in Reference to second deuision land, that part of it 
which lyeth at danforths farme both vpland and interuaile is willed to Jon- 
athan and sixtie acres of that part at Washacom litle pond to James Saw- 
yer and halfe of sum brushie land Capable of being made medow at the 
side of the great pine plain to be within the said James Sawyers sixtie 
acres and all the Rest of the second deuision land both vpland and Inter- 
uaile to be equaly deuided betwene John Prescott and Jonathan aformen- 
tioned. And Jonathan Prescott his second son to haue the Ryefeild and 
all the interuaile lott at Nashaway Riuer that part which he hath in poses- 
ion and the other part joyneing to the highway and alsoe his part of sec- 
ond deuision land aforementioned and alsoe one halfe of all the medowes 
in all deuisions in the towne not willed to John Prescott and James Sawyer 
aforementioned, and alsoe the other halfe of the saw mille and land be- 
longing to it, and it is to be vnderstood that all timber on the land belong- 
ing to both Corne Mille and Saw Mille be Comon to the vse of the Saw 
Mille. And in Reference to his third son Jonas Prescott it is herby de- 
clared that he hath Received a full childs portion at nonecoicus in a Corne 
mille and Lands and other goods. And James Sawyer his granchild and 
Servant it is his will that he haue the sixtie acres of vpland aforementioned 
and the two peices of medow at bare hill one being part of his second 
deuision the upermost peic on the brook and the other being part of his 
third deuision lying vpon Nashaway River purchased of goodman Allin. 
Prouided the said James Sawyer carie it beter than he did to his said gran- 
father in his time and carie so as becoms an aprentic & vntil he be one 
and twentie years of age vnto the executors of this will namly John Pres- 
cott and Jonathan Prescott who are alsoe herby engaged to pforme vnto 
the said James what was pmised by his said granfather, which was to en- 
deauor to learne him the art and trade of a blaksmith. And in Case the 
said James doe not pforme on his part as is afor expresed to the satisfac- 
tion of the overseers of this will, or otherwise. If he doe not acept of the 
land aformentioned, then the said land and medow to be equaly deuided 
betwene the aforsaid John and Jonathan. And in Reference to his three 



364 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

daughters, namly Marie, Sara and Lydia they to haue and Receive eurie 
of them fiue pounds to be paid to them by the executors to eurie of them 
fiftie shillings by the yeare two years after the death of theire father to be 
paid out of the mouables and Martha Ruge his granchild to haue a cow at 
the choic of her granmother, And it is the express will and charge of the 
testator to his wife and ail his Children that they labor and endeauor to 
preserue loue and unitie among themselves and the vpholding of Church 
and Comonwealth. And to the end that this his last will and testament 
may be truly pformed in all the parts of it, the said testator hath and herby 
doth constitut and apoynt his two sons namly John Prescott and Jonathan 
Prescott Joynt executors of this his last will. And for the preuention of 
after trouble among those that suruiue about the dispose of the estate 
acording to this his will he hath hereby Chosen desired and apoynted the 
Reuerend Mr. Joseph Rowlandson, deacon Sumner and Ralph Houghton 
overseers of this his will ; vnto whom all the parties concerned in this his 
will in all dificult Cases are to Repaire, and that nothing be done without 
their Consent and aprobation. And furthermore in Reference to the mou- 
ables it is his will that his son John have his anvill and after the debts and 
legacies aformentioned be truly paid and tndy discharged by the executors 
and the speciall trust pformed vnto my wife during her life and at her 
death, in Respect of, sicknes funerall expences, the Remainder of the 
mouables to be equaly deuided betwene my two sons John and Jonathan 
aforementioned. And for a further and fuller declaration and confirmation 
of this will to be the last will and testament of the afornamed John Pres- 
cott he hath herevnto put his hand and scale this 8 of 2 month one thou- 
sand six hundred seaventie three. John Prescott 

his John mark 

Sealed signed owned to be the Last will and testament of the testator 
afornamed In the presence of Joseph Rowlandson 

Roger Sumner 

April 4: 82. Ralph Houghton 

Roger Sumner > 

Ralph Houghton \ Appearing in Court made oath to the above 
s'l will. Jonathan Remington, Cleric. 

But John Prescott's pilgrimage was far from ended, and 
severer chastenings than any yet experienced awaited him. 
He had lived to see the settlement that called him father 
struggle upward from discouraging beginnings to become 
a thriving and happy community of over fifty families. 
Where at his coming all had been pathless woods, now 
fenced fields and orchards yielded annually their golden 
and ruddy harvests ; gardens bloomed ; mechanics plied 
their various crafts ; herds wandered in lush meadows ; 



JOHN PRESCOTT, THE FOUNDER. 365 

bridges spanned the rivers, and roads wound through the 
landscape from cottage to cottage and away to neighboring 
towns. All this fair scene of industry and rural content, 
which he might in modest truth claim to be the fruit of his 
care and toil, he lived to see in a single day made more 
desolate than the wilderness from which it had been labori- 
ously conquered. He was spared to see dear neighbors and 
kindred massacred in every method of revolting atrocity, 
and their wives and children carried into loathsome cap- 
tivity by foes more relentlessly cruel than wolves. When 
now weighed down with age and bodily infirmities, the rest 
he had thought won was to be denied him, and he and his 
were driven from the ashes of pleasant homes — about 
which clustered the memories of thirty years' joys and sor- 
rows — to beg shelter from the charity of strangers. For 
more than three years his enforced banishment endured. 
In October, 1679, John Prescott with his sons John and 
Jonathan, his sons-in-law Thomas Sawyer and John Rugg, 
his grandson Thomas Sawyer, Jr., and his neighbors John 
Moore, Thomas Wilder and Josiah White, petitioned the 
Middlesex Court for permission to resettle the town, and 
their prayer was granted. Soon most of the inhabitants 
who had survived the massacre and exile were busily build- 
ing new homes, some upon the cinders of the old, others 
upon their second division lands east of the rivers where 
they were less exposed to the stealthy incursions of their 
savage enemies. The two John Prescotts rebuilt the mills 
and dwelt there. Whether the pioneer's life-long helpmate 
died before their settlement, in exile, or shortly after the 
return, has not been ascertained, but it would seem that he 
survived her. Jonathan having married a second wife re- 
mained in Concord. For two years the old man lived with 
his eldest son, seeing the Nashaway Valley blooming with 
the fruits of civilized labor ; seeing new famiHes filling the 
woeful gaps made among the old by the warriors of Sho- 
shanim and Monoco ; seeing children and grandchildren 



S66 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

grasping the implements that had fallen from the nerveless 
hold of the earliest bread-winners, with hopeful and perti- 
nacious purpose to extend the paternal domain : seeing too, 
may we not trust, from the Pisgah height of prophetic vis- 
ion the glorious promise awaiting this his Canaan ; — these 
softly rounded hills and broad valleys dotted with the win- 
some homes of thousands of freemen ; churches and 
schools, shops of artisans, and busy marts of trade clus- 
tered about his mill site ; and, above all, seeing the asser- 
tion of political freedom and liberty of conscience, which 
Governor John Winthrop had reproached him for favoring 
in the petition of Robert Childe. become the corner-stone 
of a giant republic. 

No record of John Prescott's death is found ; but when 
upon his death-bed, feeling that the changed condition of 
his own and his son Jonathan's affairs required some modi- 
fication of the will made in 1673, he summoned two of his 
townsmen to hear his nuncupative codicil to that document. 
The date of the affidavit here appended makes it certain 
that his death occurred about the middle of December, 
1681 : 

The Deposition of Thos: Wilder aged ^7 years sworn say'^^ that being 
with Jno: Prescott Sen'' About six hours before he died he ye s'^ Jno. Pres- 
cott gaue to his eldest sonn Jno: Prescott his house lott with all belong- 
ing to ye same & ye two mills, corn mill & saw mill with ye land belonging 
thereto & three scor Acors of land nere South medow and fourty Acors 
of land nere Wonchesix & a pece of enteruile caled Johns Jump & Bridge 
medow on both sids ye Brook. Cyprian Steevens Testifieth to all ye truth 
Aboue writen. 

Decem. 20. 81. Sworn in Court. J. R. C. 

Though three years short of fourscore at the time of his 
death, he was Lancaster's oldest inhabitant. His fellow 
pioneer, Lawrence Waters, who was the elder by perhaps 
a year, survived, though blind and helpless ; but he dwelt 
with a son in Charlestown after the destruction of his home, 
and never returned to Lancaster. John and Ralph Hough- 
ton, much younger men, were now the veterans of the 
town. 



CAPTAIN SAMUEL WARD. 367 

II. CAPTAIN SAMUEL WARD. 
Born in Worcester, Sept. 25, 1739. Died at La^icaster, Aii^. 14, 1826. 

The death of Samuel Ward, Esq., late of Lancaster, at the advanced 
age of 87, has been noticed in several of the public prints. I]y that event 
society has lost one of its strong pillars, his town an active and liberal 
citizen, and his relatives and associates a long-tried and valuable friend. 
He was endowed with rare qualities both of mind and heart, and these he 
retained to the close of his life. We too often linger around the aged 
only in token of our remem]:)rance of times and services which are past. 
But in the evening of his days his society lost little of its charm. Even 
then his faculties had much of their original brightness. His deep inter- 
est in the varying appearance of men and things was unquenched. His 
social powers were in full exercise. His venerable features greeted with a 
smile the old and the young, and all felt blessed by his presence. His 
speech literally distilled as the dew, for to the last it came richly fraught 
with entertainment and instruction. Seldom did any one leave him with- 
out something new and worth remembering. 

He was born in Worcester, where he enjoyed the teaching of the late 
President Adams. He served for some time in the old French War, as it 
is called, and as a soldier, was firm and faithful in the service of his coun- 
try. Though he was not of the number, who from the beginning were 
confident of the success of the Revolution, yet he cheerfully contributed 
of his treasure toward maintaining our rights. He was willing to leave to 
the just who would struggle for it the poor and hard-earned palm of polit- 
ical eminence, and therefore studiously avoided a public career. Most of 
the active portion of his life was devoted to mercantile pursuits. The last 
twenty years of it he spent in superintending an extensive farm, in reading 
and reflection, and in deeds of friendship and benevolence. 

He was remarkable for a quick and accurate discernment of character. 
He seemed to read it in every line and every change of the countenance. 
Before him the mean might well quail, and the guilty tremble — for none 
ever saw more clearly than he the dark windings of their hearts. He had 
too the judgment and virtue to make the noblest use of his knowledge of 
man. He made it the foundation of an elevated and philosophic prudence, 
— that Christian prudence which is not bound up in self, but which sends 
forth its cheering and restoring influence to neighborhood, community, 
country ; building them up with holy caution and care. 

His memory will long be revered for the liberality he manifested in all 
the relations of life. His substance was always ready at the call of de- 
serving need — for upholding good government ; — and giving strength and 
efficiency to institutions. As the thought of doing good was to him satis- 
faction enough, he was ever anxious to veil his benefactions in silence. 
At his death he left a generous legacy to the Evangelical Missionary 



368 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Society of which he was a member, and to the poor of the town in which 
he lived. 

And now he is gone — the many whose tears he has wiped away shall 
weep over his grave. They whose wants he has felt and supplied, will 
rise up and bless him. The strangers, who found a welcome shelter under 
the shades of his hospitable mansion will remember him. The compan- 
ions, who were glad in his company will sigh for his cheering accents. 
And the Christian, who bowed as his venerable form entered the house of 
God, will while he mourns cherish the consoling hope, that his alms and 
all which was excellent in his life have gone up for a memorial in Heaven. 
[Columbian Centinel, Wednesday, August 30, 1826.] 



in. CAPTAIN GEORGE LEE THURSTON. 
Born in Lancaster, Janitary 16, 1831. Died Decetnber 15, 1862. 

Among the men of Lancaster who in 1861 girt them- 
selves with the weapons of strife that the nation might have 
lasting peace, the one most experienced in the mimic warfare 
of the citizen soldiery, and apparently by nature the best 
equipped with taste and aptitude for arms, as well as in- 
spired with that patriotic enthusiasm, fearlessness and am- 
bition which deserve and win high command, was Captain 
George Lee Thurston. He was the son of Honorable John 
Gates, and Harriet Lee, Thurston. His father as adjutant 
of the old Lancaster regiment was noted for efficiency and 
soldierly bearing. George played soldier with the pater- 
nal accoutrements in his tender years, and always assumed 
command of the boy miHtia coinpanies that were casually 
improvised at school, or noisily organized and paraded 
during vacations. In earliest manhood, wherever his busi- 
ness located him, he at once became a leading spirit in 
some independent military organization of the vicinity. 
At Boston he was a member of the "Tigers ;" at Ogdens- 
burg he was lieutenant in an infantry company ; at Chicago 
he was sergeant in the famous "Light Guard." Returning 
to his birthplace shortly before the civil war, he joined the 
Clinton Light Guard, as lieutenant. Remunerative em- 
ployment failing him in Massachusetts, during the winter 



CAPTAIN GEORGE LEE THURSTON. 369 

of i860 he accepted a situation as book-keeper in Chicago. 

When drum and fife began to be daily heard in the city 
streets, as company after company of volunteers marched 
to the camps of instruction, Thurston felt all his pulses 
stirred with desire to join the first regiment starting for the 
front. But he was in precarious health and without money. 
A wife and infant son were dependent upon his salary, 
even for their daily bread. Advantageous offers of military 
position were made him which he felt compelled to decline ; 
but in the early autumn of 1861 he yielded to his patriotic 
inclinations, took the post of adjutant at Camp Douglas, 
and was commissioned in the Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry, 
with the promise of speedy promotion. Before reaching 
the seat of war he was made captain. 

The prolific state of Illinois sent forth no better regi- 
ment than the Fifty-fifth, and its story of desperate and 
sanguinary service can hardly be surpassed by any in the 
records of either army. It first met the enemy Sunday' 
April 6, 1862, at Shiloh, which battle Generals Sherman 
and Grant — as also the distinguished Confederate generals, 
their opponents — have publicly characterized as among 
the most terrific they ever witnessed. Captain Thurston, 
commanding the two flank companies of the regiment as 
skirmishers, met the tirst onset of Chalmers' brigade, which, 
consisting of five regiments and a battery, formed the ex- 
treme right of the attacking forces, and confronted Stuart's 
brigade of three regiments. This last brigade, without 
artillery, was posted in an isolated position at the extreme 
left of the Union army. The Fifty-second Tennessee In- 
fantry, while coming into line, encountered such a wither- 
ing fire from Captain Thurston's command that, according 
to the Confederate reports, it fled in wild dismay, and took 
little further part in the conflict. The fire of the hostile 
battery and the advance of overpowering numbers soon 
compelled the withdrawal of the skirmishers to the hastily 
but wisely chosen line of battle, where Stuart's little force 



370 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

was drawn up, on the crest of a deep ravine. One ill- 
officered regiment of his brigade, as the shells of the enemy 
began to burst over it and the minie bullets to hiss through 
its ranks, rapidly melted away into the forest-shadowed 
valley to the rear. The other two, as though each soldier 
fully understood that the safety of the whole Federal army 
depended upon a manly defence of this naturally strong 
position guarding its flank, fought stubbornly, desperately, 
against overwhelming odds. For over four hours from the 
firing of the first gun they struggled successfully, holding 
Chalmers' brigade in check until about three o'clock in 
the afternoon. Ammunition being entirely exhausted, even 
from the cartridge-boxes of the slain, and another brigade, 
Jackson's, having joined the Confederates, the survivors 
sullenly retired from the ridge now strewn with their dead 
comrades, and unpursued marched towards the steamboat 
landing for cartridges and orders. 

Captain Thurston was conspicuously brave during the 
action. His company suffered more severely than any 
other of the Fifty-fifth. The total loss in the regiment was 
fifty-one killed, one hundred and ninety-seven wounded, 
and twenty-seven captured, out of much less than six hun- 
dred men in line of battle. Captain Thurston's company 
had nine killed outright and thirty -two wounded — one- 
sixth of the regimental loss. But one other Federal regi- 
ment engaged at Shiloh lost so great a number. In Grant's 
army were seventy regiments and twenty batteries, besides 
several thousand cavalry. The casualties in the Fifty-fifth 
Illinois were nearly one-thirtieth of the whole loss of that 
army in the two days' fighting. Captain Thurston, though 
untouched by bullet, was utterly exhausted by the labors of 
the day. He lay upon the ground that night among his 
men, drenched with the pouring rain that came down with 
the darkness upon the bloody field, unable to get food or 
other refreshment, debarred from sleep by excitement, the 
fierce thunder storm, and the roar of the heavy ordnance 



COLONEL FRANCIS WASHBURN. 371 

hurling from the gunboats every five minutes a huge shell 
almost over the heads of the beleaguered patriots, to crash 
through the trees and burst in the neighborhood of the 
Confederate bivouacs. 

Early in the morning ammunition and rations were ob- 
tained, and the regiment received orders to advance again 
to the conflict. Captain Thurston walked at the head of 
his company for a while, but was suddenly seen to stagger, 
and had to be helped fainting to the wayside. He never 
recovered from the shock to his constitution, but until July 
remained with the advancing army, though unable to per- 
form any military duty. General Grant then gave him 
leave of absence upon surgeon's certificate that such ab- 
sence was necessary to save his life. His strength barely 
sufficed to enable him to reach Chicago. There, with the 
tender care of friends and quiet rest, he was in time suffi- 
ciently recuperated to endure the journey home, where, 
graduall}' growing weaker, he peacefully closed his honor- 
able earthly career, December 15, 1862. 



IV. COLONEL FRANCIS WASHBURN, FOURTH MASSACHU- 
SETTS CAVALRY. 

Bor7i m La?icaster, July 6, 1838. Died at Worcester, Apj-il 22, 1S65. 

.... Companies I, L and M, commanded by Colonel Francis Wash- 
burn, marched to Burkesville, arriving on the night of the 5th of April. 
Early on the following morning, in compliance with orders received the 
night previous, Colonel Washburn, with two regiments of infantry, each 
about 400 strong, and a part of his own force of cavalry, numbering 13 
officers and 67 men, started to destroy High Bridge, 18 miles distant, and 
of great importance to the retreating rebel army. The bridge was reached 
about noon, the enemy offering feeble resistance to his advance. The 
infantry were halted in the vicinity of the bridge, while the cavalry pushed 
on about two miles further, meeting a superior force of the enemy's cavalry 
with artillery. A short time before the bridge was reached, Brevet Briga- 
dier-General Theodore Read arrived, with orders to hold and not destroy 
the bridge. He took command. The cavalry retired to the bridge, and 
found the infantry warmly engaged with another force of the enemy's cav- 
alry, and showing signs of breaking. It was soon evident that the enemy 



372 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

was superior in numbers, and that a fight at long range could not be main- 
tained until General Ord should be apprised of their situation, and should 
send infantry — the only troops he had — to their relief. 

Thus situated between two forces of the enemy — the larger between 
him and the Army of the James — to charge and break through the enemy, 
if possible, seemed the only honorable cour.se for General Read to take ; 
no other was suggested. Twice the cavalry charged, breaking through 
and dispersing one line of the enemy, reforming and charging a second, 
which was found in a wood too dense to admit of free use of the sabre. 
In vain, however ; eight of twelve officers engaged were put hors de coinbat ; 
three killed and five severely wounded. The little band was hemmed in 
and overpowered by two divisions of cavalry — Rosser's and Fitz Hugh 
Lee's — the advance of General Lee's army. 

Colonel Washburn, whose intrepid bravery in this fight endears his 
name to his associates, and adds the crowning glory to a life elevated by 
the purest patriotism, died a few weeks afterwards from the effects of his 
wounds. 

Because of the influence of the affair npon the results of the campaign, 
I have dwelt upon it. 

"To the sharpness of that fight," says a rebel colonel, inspector-gen- 
eral on Lee's staiT, to General Ord, "the cutting off of Lee's army at 
Appomattox Court House was probably owing. So fierce were the charges 
of Colonel Washburn and his men, and so determined their fighting, that 
General Lee received the impression that they must be supported by a 
large part of the army, and that his retreat was cut off." Acting under 
this impression, he halted his army, gave what the " inspector general" 
calls stampeding orders, and began to throw up the line of breast-works 
which were found there the next day. Three trains of provisions, forage 
and clothing which had been sent down from Lynchburg, on the South 
Side road, were sent back to prevent them from falling into our hands, 
and his army which was on third rations, and those of corn only, was thus 
deprived of the provisions, the want of which exhausted them so much. 

Moreover, by the delay occasioned by the halt, General Sheridan was 
enabled to come up with Ewell's Division at Saylor's Creek. When Lee 
discovered his mistake, and that the fighting force in his front was only a 
small detachment of cavalry and infantry, General Ord, with the Army o* 
the James, had already profited by the delay, and so closed up with him 
that a retreat directly south was no longer practicable ; he was obliged to 
make the detour by way of Appomattox Court House. General Rosser 
concurs in this opinion, and states that the importance of the fight has 
never been appreciated. 

That Lieutenant-General Grant and General Ord appreciate its impor- 
tance and confirm the principal facts stated above, is shown by the follow- 
ing extract from General Grant's Report of the Armies of the United 
States : 



COLONEL FRANCIS WASHBURN. 373 

" General Ord advanced from Burkesville towards Farmville, sending 
two regiments of infantry and a squadron of cavalry, under Brevet Briga- 
dier-General Theodore Read, to destroy the bridges. The advance met 
the head of Lee's column near Farmville, which it heroically attacked and 
detained until General Read was killed and his small force overpowered. 
This caused a delay in the enemy's movements, and enabled General Ord 
to get well up with the remainder of his force, on meeting which the enemy 
immediately intrenched himself. In the afternoon General Sheridan struck 

the enemy south of Saylor's Creek." 

Colonel Washburn. — The death of this brave and gallant offi- 
cer mentioned in the foregoing narrative was deeply felt, and the tribute 
of respect to his memory was universal. Lieutenant-General Grant, as 
soon as the intelligence of his death was received, paused amidst his vast 
labors, to write with his own hand, a letter to the family of the deceased 
expressive of his sympathy in their loss, and admiration for his gallant and 

heroic conduct 

[Report of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts for 1865.] 

The letter of the commanding general was as follows : 

Headquarters Armies of the United States, 

Washington, D. C, May 21, 1865. 
Mrs. Harriet W. Washburn, 

Lancaster, Massachusetts. 
My Dear Madam : 

I have just seen for the first time the obituary notice of your noble 
son who fell wounded at the " High Bridge " so gallantly leading his men. 
I had hoped his wound would not prove mortal and that he might be 
spared many long years to view with pride the work which he so bravely 
aided in consummating. 

Allow me to express my sincere condolence for your bereavement, and 
to express the hope that in the blood of so many thousand martyrs our 
country has sealed her liberties and peace, at home, at least, for all time 
to come. Very truly yours, 

U. S. Grant, LL Gen. 

Colonel Francis Washburn, of the Fourth Massachusetts 

Cavalry, wounded in the desperate engagement at High Bridge, Thursday, 
the i6th inst., arrived in Worcester on Friday last, and died the following 
night at the house of his brother, Mr. J. D. Washburn. Only a few 
months before, another brother, Captain Edward R. Washburn, well 
known to many of our citizens, had yielded his life under the wounds re- 
ceived at Port Hudson. Thus the experience of this war repeats itself — 
and thus these two at length meet again. 

It was a pleasure, early in the war, to urge upon the governor that he 
should commission Frank Washburn as junior second-lieutenant in the 



374 ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 

First Massachusetts Cavalry. The commi.ssion was cheerfully bestowed. 
It was all the young gentleman asked for. By the course of his studies 
and practice in Germany he had acquired peculiar fitness for the cavalry 
service, and seemed worthy of a higher rank, which was suggested to him ; 
but he modestly declined, remarking that he preferred to stake the chances 
of his promotion on the merits of his service. He had returned from 
Europe at the first intelligence of the war, to offer himself to his country, 
as some others had done, and preferred to pass upward through the grada- 
tions of her service to the honors of the field, if he might win them. He 
was soon made captain in the Second Cavalry, all the while remaining at 
his post. When the Fourth Cavalry was organized, without solicitation, 
but not without reason, he was selected by the governor for the lieutenant- 
colonelcy. Upon the resignation of Colonel Rand of this regiment, Wash- 
burn was promptly promoted to his rank. That rank he distinguished in 
the eyes of all his men and his superior officers ; and that saddle, save 
only a few days of furlough in which to witness the burial of his soldier- 
brother, he constantly filled until he fell from it to die. He fought in 
South Carolina and in Virginia ; he led his men under Sheridan, in the 
presence of Ord and of Grant ; and the best proof of his fidelity and his gal- 
lantry was in the special recommendation of the Lieutenant-General, for- 
warded to Washington after his last battle, and when his wounds were not 
supposed to be mortal, that he should be brevetted brigadier-general — 
which request was no doubt complied with before his death. At all times 
and on all fields he received the respect and confidence of his men for 
brilliant action, for kind and affectionate treatment. In all the engage- 
ments of three years and a half, he never received a wound until he re- 
ceived the last. 

His fatal encounter was in that last critical battle which enforced the 
surrender of Lee. While endeavoring to destroy the High Bridge, over 
which it was feared Lee's army might escape. Colonel Washburn was sur- 
rounded by Rosser and F. H. Lee, and fought them till he fell, in the odds 
of eight men to one. He was conspicuous through the fight, and twice 
with impetuous charge broke through the rebel lines and threw them into 
confusion. He might at either of these times have passed on with his 
cavalry and escaped. But he refused to leave the infantry while their re- 
mained the slightest chance of rescuing them from their situation. Ac- 
cordingly he made his third charge, and in this, while crossing sabres with 
a rebel officer whom he had nearly disarmed, he was shot in the head by 
another, and after he had fallen received a sabre cut upon the skull which 
finished his work. He was two days a prisoner, during which, notwith- 
standing the gallantry he had displayed, and which even the enemy affected 
to extol, they did nothing for his wounds, and robbed him of his horse, 

his sword and his money ! 

[Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, in the Worcester Spy.] 



COLONEL FRANCIS WASHBURN. 375 

It should be said that Colonel Washburn was perhaps 
subjected to no worse treatment by the Confederates than 
their own wounded received, he being then in the midst of 
an ill-appointed and fleeing army. His sword, which had 
been taken by General Rosser, was recovered in due time, 
but his watch and the other articles of which he was 
despoiled have never been restored. The sabre stroke of 
a cowardly ruffian caused his death ; but the pistol bullet, 
which, entering his cheek, passed down into his lungs, 
excited an irritation that in time would probably have 
proved fatal. 




NDEX 



SUBJECTS AND PLACES. 



A CADIA, lo, i6, 17. 

-^*- Aciidian expedition of 1755, 33, 41, 50. 
Acadian mission of 1775, 130. 
Advertisement, coach, 238. 

buckle-maker's, 223. 

dancing-master's, 230. 

Latin Grammar School, 280. 

of money lost, 58. 

news-carrier's, 238. 

slave-owner's, 236. 
Aix La Chapelle, treaty of, 30. 
Alarm list, 106. 
Albany, 38, 53, 54, 59, 60, 67. 
Algiers, war with, 2S2. 
Almanac-makers, 200, 278-9. 
Amesbury, 13. 
Andover, 13, 232. 
d'Anville's expedition, 23. 
Aqueduct companies, 279. 
Artillery company of L., 1814, 270. 
Ashburnham,88, 103, 122, 126, 128, 176, 247. 
Ashby, 24, 127, 129, 247. 
Assessors' accts. 1779-80, 221, 222. 
Auctions, scenes at, 275, 276. 
Augustan age of L., 273. 
Austrian succession, war for, 16. 

"OALL'S BLUFF, battle of, 293. 
-'-^ Bay of Fundy, 33, 42, 50. 

Minas, 46, 47, 51. 
Barrington, 127. 
Beef for army, 54, 222, 223. 
Beer, spruce, 84, 108. 
Bennington alarm, 161. 
Berlin, 292, 341. 
Beverly, 196, 263. 
Billerica, 12, 13, 14, 264. 
Black list, 1776, 203. 
Blacksmiths' convention, 104. 
Bolton, 31, 98, 102, 103, 104, 240, 241, 247, 

277, 290, 291, 292, 307, 341. See also 

index of soldiers' names. 
Boston, II, 13, 19, 20, 23, 28, 29, 41, 42, 43, 

74, 94. 95- 96, 144. 157. 270, 321, 328. 
Boston poor, aid to, 96, 99, 100, 227. 
Boston, siege of, 123-137, 229. 
Boston mail line, 274. 



Bounties to soldiers, 149, 168, 168, 171, 172, 

178, 179, 188, 215, 300. 
Boylston, 205, 210, 291, 341. 
Boxboro, 247. 
Boxtord, 78. 
Brimfield, mob at, 196. 
Brookfield, 34,211. 
Brookline, 99. 

Buckskins, macaronies, &c., 138. 
Bunker Hill, 20, 117, 123, 196, 259. 
Butt's Hill, R. I., 157, 160. 

("•AMBRIDGE, 100, 105, 117, 119, 126, 
^^ 177, 220, 237, 271. 
Camp life, 45, 70, 78, 84, 123, 124, 137. 
Canada, conquest of, 63-89. 

expedition, 1776, 126. 
Cape Breton, 16, 21. 
Carriages, etc., taxed 1754, 31. 
Carthagena, siege of, 12, 345. 
Census of 1765, 209. 
of 1776, 210. 

of 1777. 151- 
of 1S60, 334. 
Charitable societies' work, 296. 
Charlestown, 13, 127, 227. 
Charlestown No. 4, 28, 84. 
Chelmsford, 12, 13, 42, 43, 127. 
Cider, 55, 108. 
Classing for draft, 179, 186. 
Clinton, 209, 240, 29I, 292, 309. 310, 312, 

312, 313, 318, 322, 326, 334, 341. 
Clinton Light (iuard, 290. 
Clipped coin, 213. 

Clothing, soldiers', 78, 107, 223, 224. 
"Coat-rolls" of Mass., 123. 
Cockades, 11, 107. 
Committees of correspondence and safety, 

93, 97, 100, 152, 154, 155, 167, 170, 

186, 201, 246. 
Committee of grievances, I773, 94, 95. 
of war, 1756, 63. 
to fix prices, 219, 221. 
to have cognizance of debts, 153. 
Concord, 12, 13, 14, 35, 44, 82, 98, 191, 219, 

220, 232, 345. 
Concord stage-coach, 238. 



378 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Confiscated royalist estates, igg. 
Conquest of Canada, 63-89. 
Constitution, state, discussed, 153, 167, 173. 
Continental Congress, acts of approved, 

100, 104, 155. 
Continental money, depreciation of, 149, 
213-216. 
refused for taxes, 221. 
Continental regiments of Mass., 149, 180- 

185. 
Conventions at Cambridge, 100, 220. 

at Concord, 98, 219, 220. 

at Leicester, 247, 248, 252. 

at Lunenburg, 247. 

at Paxton, 248. 

at Worcester, 102, 103, 104, 219, 220, 
246. 
Corn-mill, first in Lancaster, 342, 352. 
Cornwallis celebrations, 239-240. 
Corporal punishment, 71, 78, 145. 
Cotton factory, first in Lancaster, 282. 
Counterfeit money, 214. 
County, proposed division of, 247. 
Crown Point expeditions, 30, 52, 59. 
"Culliver gun," 10. 

TRANCING and French taught in L., 230. 

^-^ Declaration of independence, 137, 153. 

Dedham, 140. 

Deerfield, 42, 238. 

Depreciation in paper money, 149, 213-216, 

221, 222. 250. 
Doctors' fees. 219. 
Domestic utensils, Colonial, 226. 
Donation party, first in L., 214. 
Dorchester, 76, 135, 146, 147. 
Draft, the, of 1864, 302. 
Dress of soldiers, etc., 107, 223, 275. 
Dunstable, 247. 

P MBARGO. 260, 261, 262, 265. 

■*— ' Equalization of bounties, etc., 152, 154, 

167. 
Equipments of soldiers, 10, 106, 107. 
Excise of 1754, 31. 

■pAMILIES, average size of, 209. 
-'■ soldiers' cared for, 154, i66, 190. 
Fay Light Guard, 290, 291, 292. 
Field pieces bought, 98, 99, 100. 
P'itchburg, 88, 103, 126, 240, 247, 313, 322. 
Flogging, in army, 71, 78, 145. 
Fort Beau Sejour, 45. 

Cumberland, 44, 48, 49. 

Dummer, 28, 29. 

Edward, 56, 59. 77, 

Halifax, 32. 

William Henry, 56, 58, 59, 60, 71. 
Framinghani, 13, 37, 42, 44, 321. 
Freedmen's Aid Society, 302. 
Free trade, 11. 

French and Indian wars, 30-89. 
French Neutrals, 48-52. 

r' ATES" tavern, 109. 

' Goss and Walley war, 92, 205. 
Grafton, 13, 43, 327. 
Grain notes, 170, 171. 



Greenfield, 122. 

Groton, 13, 26, 42, 43, 44, 65, 66, 129, 240, 

247. 317. 346. 
Guarding prisoners, 175-177. 

TJTARDWICK, 52. 

*- *■ Harvard, 31, 98, 102, 103, 104, 240, 247, 
279, 290, 291, 292, 341. See also in- 
dex of soldiers' names. 

Hemp and flax raising, 210, 223, 229. 

Highland prisoners at Lunenburg, 233. 

Highland bonnets forbidden, 77, 78. 

Holden, 37, 65. 

Holliston, 129. 

Home-guards, 287, 293, 

Hubbardston, 129. 

Hull, 141, 142. 

Husking bees, 274, 275. 

Hyperion tea, 225. 

IMPRESSMENT of seamen, 266. 

■*• Indian raids, 24, 29. 

Inspectors of market, 219. 

Instructions to delegates, etc., 95, 248, 249, 

251. 
Insurrection of 1787, 245, 258. 

T ERSEY tea, 225. 

J Jesuit vs. Puritan, 16, 26. 

Jurors' protest vs. Judge Oliver, loi. 

T/"ING George's war, 16-29. 

-'■^ "King George's rights displayed," 101. 

Kip's Bay, retreat at, 144. 

1 AFAYETTE'S visit, 241-4. 

^-^ Lake George, battle at, 36, 37. 

Lancaster, N. B,, 50, 197. 

Lancaster, "Early Records" of, 9. 
first military company of, 9. 
Independent Phalanx, 293. 
Petition of 1808, 261. 
Regiment, 87, 88, 120, 123. 
Troop, 87, 89, 109. 

Leicester, 247. 

Leominster, 26, 31, 52, 98, 102, 103. 104, 240, 
247. 284, 307, 310, 313, 314, 318, 321, 
322, 327, 341. See also index of sol- 
diers' names. 

Lexington, 12, 13, 125. 

Lexington alarm, loi, 105, 117, 196, 263, 264. 

Liberty poles, 93. 

Libraries, early, in L., 231, 232. 

Linen manufacture, 31. 

Littleton, 13, 42, 44, 57, 65, 129, 136, 198, 
232, 247. 

Louisbourg, siege of, 16-23. 

Love well's war, 11, 14, 19, 27. 

Loyalists. Lancaster, 194-209. 

Lunenburg, 24, 26, 27, 28, 35, 42, 43, 44, 52 
57. 59. 69. 74. 75. 76, Si, 87, 88, 92, 
103, 122, 126, 176, 180, 183, 233, 247. 

Lynn, 12, 127. 

ATALDEN,43, 228. 

'■^*- Manufactures in L., 200, 211, 212, 273. 

282. 
Marine service, 177. 



INDEX. 



379 



Marlborough, 13, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44. 59, 65, 

66, 82, 122. 240. 
May trainings, 294. 
Mechanics in L., 211, 228, 276. 
Military equipments 1653, 10. 

1775, 106, 107. 
Milton, 76, 80. 
Minute men, 106. 

Money, depreciation of. 149, 213-216, 221, 
222, 250. 

counterteit, 214. 

■\TARRAGANSET No. 2, 25, 26, 66. 

■'• Needham, 14. 

Negro soldiers, 237. 

Newbury, 76. 

Newport, 13, 157, 160, 177, 184, 239. 

News carriers, 238. 

Newspapers become a power, 93. 

Newton, 57, 117. 

Nichewaug, 25, 26. 

"Ninety-two, the patriotic," 105. 

Non-consumption .agreement, 96, 98. 

Non-intercourse act, 260, 266. 

Northern and Southern soldiers contrasted, 

137. 138. 
Northborough, 129, 145. 
Northampton, 67, 238. 
Nutficld, 45. 

/^FFICERS, enmity between ISritish and 
^^ American, 41, 46, 70, 91. 
Origin of Lancaster names, 343. 

pAQUOAGE, 25. 

■^ Pepperell, 247. 

Petersham, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44, 205, 254. 

Peticodiac, hglit at, 44. 

Poll taxes of soldiers abated, 300. 

Post-oHices, 237. 

i'ost-riders, 238. 

Potash manufacture in L., 200, 211. 

Preseot parish, 343. 

Prices of labor, 19, 217, 218, 219, 221, 299. 

merchandise, etc., 212, 216-219, 281. 

voted inunutable, 219. 
Princeton, 125, 129, 141, 148, 156, 176, 180, 

184, 244, 247. 
Prisoners of war in I,., 232-235. 
Prophecy of Rev. John Mellen, 90. 
Provincial Congress, delegates to, 98, 100, 
153- 

QUAKER Hill, R. I., battle of, 157. 
^^ Quebec cx))edition 1690, 10, 
Quotas of L. in revolution, 123, 130, 131, 
143. 149. 151. 165. 178. 
in rebellion, 295, 296, 298-302, 334. 

T^AISING bees, 275. 
-^^ Rations of soldiers 1777, 108. 
Rebellion of slave states, 2S5-338. 
Receipts of substitutes, 150, 151, 215. 
Regulating prices, 216-219. 
Remonstrance agamst war of 1812, 267-269. 
Resolutions passed 1773, 93-95. 
Returns of polls and estates 1771-84, 210. 
Revolutionary war, 90-244. 



Rhode Island service, 155-161. 
Roxbury, 130, 135. 
Royalists of Lancaster, 194-20C). 
Rutland, 26, 37, 127, 176, 177, 179, 238. 

C ALEM, 13, 125, 263, 290. 

*^ Sandvvich, 127. 

Sanitary Commission, 294, 297. 303, 304. 

Saratoga, 56, 67, 161, 163. 

Sauce money, 108. 

Saw-mill, first in L., 343, 353. 

Schools, 230, 280, 281. 

Seminole war, 321. 

Shays' insurrection, 200, 245-258. 

Shei^p-raising, 223. 

Sheffield, 39, 40, 54, 70. 

Shirley, 36, 44, 65, 66, 122, 125, 128, 130, 

240, 247. 
Short-service enlistments, I5t;-i77. 
Shrewsbury, 36, 37, 42. 43, 65, 66. 125, 126, 

I29, 162, 232, 238. 
Siege of Boston, 123-137. 

of Carthagcna, 12. 

of Louisbourg, 16-23. 
Slate quarry, 211. 
Slavery in L., 98, 236, 237. 
Small-pox, going to take, 202. 
Soldiers' Relief Association, 297, 302-4. 
Soldiers' Relief Fund, 297, 298. 
Southborough, 82. 
Southbridge, 326. 
Spanish war, 9-15. 
Springfield, 43, 60, 61, 254. 
Spruce beer, 84, 108. 
Squadrons or classes, 179, 186. 
Stamp act, 93. 

Statistics, during revolution, 209. 
Sterling, 167, 174, 187, 210, 240, 244, 247, 

292, 318, 341. 
Stow, 35, 36, 42, 45, 66, 99, 129, 182, 292, 321. 
StougliTon, 127. 

Stjbstitutcs' receipts, etc., 150, 151, 215. 
Sudliury, 13, 14. 346, 348, 349. 
Sun tavern, 239, 240. 
.Surdody's revenge, 24. 

T^AVERN.S, 104, 109, 220, 239, 240, 247, 
*■ 264, 274. 

Taunton, 76, 234. 

Taxes 1779-80, 221, 222. 

Tea and its substitutes, 31, 55, 99, 201, 225. 

Thanksgiving 1760, 84, 90. 

Ticonderoga, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, yy, 79, 137, 
141, 146, 161, 164. 

Tides in Minas Basin, 47. 

Tories, 194-209. 

Town-meetings, records of, etc., 93, 94-100, 
152-155, 166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 173, 
174, 175, 185, 186, 219-224, 246, 248, 
261, 262, 267, 269, 287-9, 296, 300, 
301, 

Townsend, 37, 127, 247, 291, 307,317. 

Training bancls, 106. 

Treaty of Aix La Chapelle, 30. 
of Ghent, 282. 
of Paris, 86. 

T T S. confcder.ation ratified, 155. 
*~^ • Utensils of colonial times, 226. 



38o 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



WALLEY FORGE, 223. 
^ Valuation returns 1771-84, 210. 
Veteran re-enlistments, 301, 333. 

AATAGES of soldiers, ig, 108, 143, 149, 
^* 167, 171. 

of laborers, etc., 19, 217, 222, 299. 
Waltham, 57, 132. 
War, King Philip's, 9. 

Lovewell's, 11, 14, 19, 27. 

with Spain, g-15. 

King George's, 16-29. 

French and Indian, 30-89. 

Indian of 1790, 259. 

revolutionary, 90-244. 

of 1812, 260-272. 

with Algiers, 282. 

Florida, 321. 



War, Mexican, 272. 

of rebellion, 285. 
Watertown, 13, 44, 117, 344, 345, 346. 
Westborough, 37, 43, 44, 126, 145. 
West Boylston, 313, 315. 
Westford, 247. 
Westminster, 88, 103, 116, 117, 122, 191, 240, 

247. 
Weston, 12, 202. 
Weymouth, 51, 52. 
Winchendon, 129, 181, 237. 
Woburn, 13, 14, 44. 
Wooden horse, 46. 
Worcester, 13, 43, 44, 74, 76, 80, 128, 219, 

220, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 244, 253, 

254, 320, 326. 
VTANKEE vs. Macaroni, etc., 138. 
^ Yorktown surrender, 239, 240. 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 



I. Colonial soldiers of Lancaster. 

II. Colonial soldiers of Bolton. 

III. Colonial soldiers of Harvard. 

IV. Colonial soldiers of Leominster. 

V. Soldiers of Lancaster in Revolution. 

VI. Soldiers of Bolton do. 



VII. Soldiers of Harvard in Revolution. 

VIII. Soldiers of Leominster do. 

IX. Soldiers during Shays' Insurrection. 

X. Soldiers of Lancaster, 1812-1S14. 

XI. Soldiers during the Rebellion. 

XII. Index of miscellaneous persons. 



L Colonial Soldiers of Lancaster. 



A LBERT, Daniel, 23, 14. 
-'*• Daniel, jr., 72, 76. 

Frederick, 72, 76. 
Atherton, Amos, 82. 

Benjamin, 65, 75, 80. 

David, 33, 42, 44, 86. 

Joseph, 10. 

Phineas, 42, 59. 
J')Al'LEY,Bay/ey, John, 66, 
-*-^ 69, 72, 75, 82. 

Joseph, 42, 68, 72, 76. 

Joshua, 37, 61, 77. 

Moses, 60. 

Phineas, 67, 72, 76. 

Shubael, 66. 
Ballard, Capt. Benjamin, 37, 

40. SS- 56 57. 58, 69. 

Joseph, 58. 

Ensign Josiah, 87. 

Samuel, 37, 57, 60, 68, 69. 

Sherebiah, 25. 
Barney, Thomas, 72, 75. 
Barron, William, 37, 57, 58. 
Beaman or Beman, Elijah, 
57, 61, 68. 

Joseph, 28, 33, 67. 

Capt. Thomas, 42, 77, 80. 
Beckford, Thomas, 61. 
Bemis, Deamis, Charles, 80. 
Bennett, Ithamar, 37, 85. 

Jacob, 61. 
Bigelow, Ebenezer, 66, 85. 
Bixby, Bigsby, Joseph, 66, 
72, 76, 80, 86. 

Samuel, 66. 



Blaney, Jedediah, 80. 
Brahrook, William, 65, 85. 
Bridgman, Henry, 57, 58. 
Brooks, John, 37, 65. 
Brown, John, 58. 

Jonathan, 42. 

Josiah, 86, 87. 

William, 67, 80. 
Bruce, Abraham, 36. 
Bryant, Micah, 42, 65, 72, 76. 
Burpee, Jeremiah, 89. 

Nathan, 28, 61. 

Samuel, 25. 
Burroughs, John, 80. 
Bush, George, 72, 76, 85. 
Buss, Ebenezer, 25. 

Jonathan, 60. 
Butler, Asaph, 66, 69. 

Simon, 61. 
pANADY, Gilbert, 58. 
^ Carter, Ephraim, 81, 88. 

James, 61, 87, 89. 

Col. John, 60, 61, 87, 88. 

Jonas, 81, 87. 

Josiah, 61. 

Phineas, 34. 
Chandler, Moses, 60. 
Chase, Benjamin, 77. 
Cole, Abijah, 36. 
Cook, Daniel, 72, 76, 80. 
Cooper, Jedediah, 66, 72, 81, 

87. 
Crosfield, James, 36, 57, 63, 

80. 
Crosley, John, 72. 



Cummings, Samuel, 34. 
"n\EXTER, Joseph, 33. 
■*-^ Dickenson, Jeremiah, 

57. 85. 
Divoll, Ensign John, 9. 

Josiah, 57, 58, 60. 

Levi, 77, 82, 87. 

Manasseh, 61, 76, 77. 

Phineas, 43. 
Dole, Thomas, 35. 
Dresser, Aaron, 25, 35, 38. _ 

Oliver, 37, 66. 
Dufore, David, 81, 87. 
Dunsmoor, John, 72, 76. 

Oliver, 66. 

William, 60. 
Dupee, John, 25. 

EAGER, Ager, Nathan,66, 
67. 
Eveleth, Isaac, 68, 72, 76, 80, 

87. 
pAIRBANK,Cyrus, 60, 76 
■^ Ephraim, 61, 80. 

Capt. Jabez, 11. 

Jonathan, 10. 

Josiah, 37, 60. 

Samuel, 37, 85. 

Thomas, 25, 37, 80. 

William, 37, 85. 
Farmer, VVilliam, 66. 
Farnsworth, Abel, 43, 81. 

Joseph, 42. 

Zachariah, 58. 
Farrar, David, 15. 

Jacob, 10. 



INDEX. 



381 



John, 25, 37, 39, 85. 

Joseph, 79. 

Nathan, 15, 79. 
Field, Jeremiah, 43. 
Fiagg, Gershom, 32, 60, 82. 

Josiah, 82. 
Fletcher, Ephraim, 13, 14. 

Joshua, 60. 

Robert, 36, 66. 
Fosgate, Fonkit, Robert, 36. 
Foster, Stephen, 80, 82. 
Fry, Benjamin, 13, 14. 

GARY, Geary, Jonathan, 
66, 69, 85. 
Nathan, 37, 80. 
Thomas, 69, 88. 
Gcrrish, Enoch, 88. 
Glazier, Jacob, 85. 
Gates, Cyrus, 36. 
Capt. Hezekiah, 25, 53, 57, 

61, 87. 
Nathaniel, 62, 81, 86. 
Stephen, 86. 
Thomas, 89. 
Goodale, Goodcll, Phineas, 

66,80. 
Goodfry, Godfrey, Andrew, 

57, 86. 
Goodnow, Goodenougk, 
James, 66. 
Jonathan, 65, 72, 76. 
Samuel, 72, 76. 
Goss, Daniel, 66. 
Ephraim, 43, 66, 72, 77, 80, 
81. 
Greenleaf, Israel, 34. 
Gross, Obediah, 82. 

HADLEY, Hcadly, Geo., 
86. 
John, 28, 67, 72, 76, 86. 
John, jr., 86. 
Hamilton, Marmaduke J., 

3^- . . 

Harris, Renjamm, 60. 

John, 23. 

Silvanus, 60. 
Harthan, Micah, 65. 
Hartwell, Joseph, 58. 
Haskell, Abncr, 5/. 

Henry, 32, 57, 82. 

Jeremiah, 61, 86. 

Moses, 42. 
Hastings, John, 15. 

Nathaniel, 61, 65. 
Heidrick, Joseph, 61. 
Henderson, John, 28. 

Thomas, 43, 77, 80, 81, 87. 
Hibera, Abner, 86. 
Hinds, Benjamin, 67. 

John, 82. 
Holden, Jonathan, 58. 
Holman, Nathaniel, 36. 
Holt, Josiah, 58. 
Houghton, Abijah, 25, 61. 

Benjamin, 23, 57, 61, 80,81. 

Edward, 61. 

Elijah, 23, 33, 37, 61. 87, 89. 

Ezra, 37. 



James, 23, 28, 33, 42, 44,.S6. 

Joel, 61. 

Lieut. Jonathan, 12, 14. 

Jonathan, 34, 36. 

Joseph, 57, 61. 

Lemuel, 60. 

Nahum, 33, 37, 61, 77. 

Nathaniel, 34, 61. 

Philemon, 37. 

Phineas, 88. 

Ralph, II. 

Samuel, 60. 

Solomon, 60. 

Thaddeus, 15. 
House, James, 25. 
Howe, P'rederick, 81. 
Hudson, Darius, 58,65. 

Nathaniel, 34, 58. 

William, 43, 44, 86. 
Hunt, Sherebiah, 25, 37, 56, 

57. 61, 80. 
Hutchins, Jonathan, 71, 75. 

William, 18. 
T ENO, Geno, Philip, 65, 85. 
J Jewctt, Joseph, 87. 
Johnson, Daniel, 65, 81, 82, 
87. 

Dole, 86. 

Joel, 29. 

John, 43. 

Joshua, 60, 65, 77, 82, 86, 
87. 

Silvanus, 75, 81. 

Simeon, 67, 86. 

Stephen, 25. 
Jones, Nathaniel, 82. 
■jy" ENDALL, Benjamin,32. 
-'^ Ezekiel, 13, 14, 15, 60. 

Isaac, 32, 37, 85. 

Jonathan, 33, 61, 77. 

Levi, 67, 72, 76, 82. 

Peter, 13, 14, 36, 86. 

Samuel, 72, 76. 

Simon, 67, 85. 

Stephen, 72, 76, 85. 

Thomas, 61. 

William, 37, 39, 61, 67. 
Kerley, Lt. Henry, 9. 

Lt. William, 9. 
Kilburn, Aaron, 86. 

Isaac, 86. 

Joseph, 28. 
Knight, Amos, 67. 

Isaac, 13, 14. 

Russell, 60. 
Knowlton, Abraham, 36. 
T ARKIN, Edmund, 65. 
■L-' John, 66, 70, 86. 

Matthias, 33, 43, 65, 72, 76, 
86. 

Peter, 60, 70, 72, 76. 

William, 32, 58, 65. 
Lawrence, Jonathan, 86. 
Lee, William, 76. 
Little, John, 58. 

Manasseh, 58. 
Littlejohn, Thomas, 22. 

Tilley, 37. 



Locke, John, 80. 

Josiah, 61, 67, 82. 
Longlev, Robert, 36. 
A/TcBRIDE, John, 61, 66, 
•'■*■'- 72, 76. 
McCarty, John, 68, 72, 75, 

79. 82. 
McLong, Michael, 80. 
Manning, John, 37, 57. 
May James, 61. 

John, 33. 

Thomas, 61. 
Maynard, Artemas, 43, 65. 
Moore, Ephraim, 87. 

Fairbank, 28, 84. 

Ensign John, 9. 

John, jr., 34, 61. 

Tilley, 87. 
Mosman, Joshua, 77. 

Samuel, 77. 
Munroe, John, 58. 
f^SGOOD, Abner, 35, 65, 

^ 71. 75. 87. 

Benjamin, 29. 

David, 61. 

Elijah, 61. 

Ephraim, 25. 

Hooker, 6i, 88. 

John, 23. 

Jonathan, 61, 88. 

Oliver, 37, 86. 
pARKER,Zachariah, 58. 
■'■ Pierce, Joshua, 14, 15, 18, 

76, 80. 
Perham, William, 72, 75. 
Phelps, Joel, 42. 

Dr. Phineas, 34. 

Robert, 71, 75, 82. 

William, 88. 
Phillips, Ethan, 36, 39, 75, 80. 

Jonathan, 67, 72, 75. 
Pike, Ebenezer, 68, 72, 76. 
Pollard, Benjamin, 14. 

Jonas, 87. 

William, 33. 
Pope, John, 10. 
Powers, Amos, 80. 

Gideon, 12, 14. 

Jonathan, 28, 34, 38. 

Oliver, 80. 

Timothy, 13, 14, 86. 
Pratt, James, 67, 72, 76. 

Joseph, 44. 

Josiah, 36. 

Josiah, jr., 36, 86. 
Prentice, Jolm, 25, 80. 82. 

Josiah, 77, 80, 81, 86. 

Samuel, 61, 88. 
Priest, Benjamin, 67, 80, 86. 

Daniel, 61. 

Joseph, 44, 57, 77. 
Prouty, Elijah, 60. 

Joshua, 67, 72, 75. 

Richard, 67, 86. 
Pusha, Nathan, 77. 
T^ANDALL, John, 27. 
-'■^ Phineas, 36, 86. 
Redman, Moses, 68, 72, 75, 



382 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



79, 82. 
Richardson, James, 88. 

John, 36, 80. 

Joseph, 29. 

Paul, 77, 80. 

William, 25, 39. 

William, jr., 35, 58, 60. 
Robbins, Daniel, 61, 88. 

Edward, 61, 81. 

Jonathan, 61. 

Joseph, 36, 81. 

Joseph, jr., 36, 86. 
Ross, James, 61. 

Samuel, 57, 88. 
Rugg, Amos, 60. 

Asa, 77. 

Daniel, 6i. 

John. 37, 45, 86. 

Joseph, 25. 

Nathan, 44. 

Reuben, 60. 

Samuel, 60. 
C AMPSON, John, 66. 
*^ Saunders, David, 44, 
Sargent, John, 28. 
Sawyer, Caleb, 82. 

Elijah, 25, 89. 

Elisha, 87. 

Capt. Ephraim, 23, 33, 

Ephraim, jr., 82. 

Josiah, 60. 

Joshua, 36. 

Moses, 60, 66. 

Nathaniel, 60, 87. 

Paul, 34, 61. S 

Phineas, 25, 61. 

Thomas, 25. 
Smith, Jacob, 61, 65, 85. 

Moses, 88. 

Thomas, 58. 
Snow, Ebenezer, 36. 

Ezekiel, 61, 66, 80, 86. 

Samuel, 61. 
Solendine, Sulandine, Isaac, 
44. 80. 

John, 86. 
Spaulding, Benjamin, 86. 

Oliver, 12. 14. 
Spear, Robert, 81. 
Squirean, James, 66, 75, 79, 
82. 

Joseph, 68, 72. 
Stewart, Jeremiah, 77. 

John, 6q. 

Joseph, 68, 72, 76, 82, 85. 

Richani, 80. 
Stiles, Jacob, 44, 61, 75, 81. 
Stimpson, David, 86. 
Stone, Daniel, 81. 



Solomon, 33. 
Swan, William, 87. 
XHURSTON, David, 57, 
-'• 66. 

Samuel, 5i. 
Townsend, Jonathan, 66, 72, 

76. 
Tucker, Uriah, 32. 
Tufts, Aaron, 61, 66. 
Turner, Joseph, 72, 75, 82. 

Lemuel, 44. 

Nathan, 80, 82. 

Nathaniel, 44. 

William, 44. 
\XrALKER, Hezekiah, 36. 
* * Reuben, 72, 76, 85. 
Ward, Capt. Samuel, 80, 88, 

367- 
Warner, Daniel, 80. 

Capt. John, 18, 22. 

John, jr., 22, 27. 44, 77. 

Oliver, 34. 

Samuel, 35. 

Silas, 66. 

William, 44, 45. 
Wheeler, Darius, 13, 14. 

George, 60, 67. 

John, 36. 

Samuel, 10. 
Wheelock, Jonathan, -jj. 

Joseph, 34. 

Timothy, 10. 
Whitcomb, Capt. Asa, 28, 37, 
39. 65, 69. 

Asa, 61, 67. 

Hezekiah, 25, 28, 35, 61, 85. 

John, 35, 85. 

Jonathan Priest, 37. 

Capt. Joseph, iS, 36, 39, 67. 

Joseph, jr., 67. 

William, 14, 15. 
White, Elisha, 37. 

Capt. John, 11. 

John, jr., 23, 60, 87. 
' Joseph, 60, 87. 

Josiah, 82. 

Nathaniel, 23, 34, 88. 

Thomas, 60. 
Whiting, Timothy, 37. 
Whitney, Jonathan, 61. 
Wilde, David, 45. 
Wilder, Aaron, 44. 

Abel, 60. 

Asa, 88. 

Benjamin, 34. 

Caleb, 87, 88. 

David, 80. 

Ephraim, 25, 61, 88. 

Ezra, 80. 



Gardner, 57, 6i, 88. 

Jacob, 13, 14. 

James, 87, 88. 

John, 28, 60. 

jonatlian, 25, 61, 87. 

Joseph, 87. 

Jotham, 68, 72, 76. 

Moses, 61, 88. 

Nahum, 80. 

Oliver, 58, 74. 

Oliver, jr., 86. 

Phineas, 66, 69, 72. 76. 

Tilley, 67, 76. 

Thomas, 9. 
Wiles, Richard, 80. 
Willard, Aaron, 68, 69, 81. 

Abijah, 18, 21, 22, 42, 49, 
50. 52, 74. 76, 78. 80, 83. 
84. 

Benjamin, 10. 

Caleb, 60. 

David, 60. 

Ephraim, 60. 

Jacob, 23, 32, 42. 

James, 44, 80. 

John, 71. 

Joshua, 42. 

Levi, 21, 80, 88. 

Nathaniel, 68. 

Peter, 63, 75, 77. 

Phineas, 25, 34. 

Col. Samuel, 11, 17 to 31. 

Col. Samuel, jr., 34, 35, 86. 

M.aj. Simon, 9. 

Simon, 34. 

Thomas, 42. 

William, 36, 39, 61. 
Williams, Jacob, 81. 
Wilson, Benjamin, 58. 

John, 44. 

Nathaniel, 87. 
Winn, Jacob, 86. 
Woods, Wood, Elijah, 32, 37, 
40, 57, 61, 66, 87. 

Jodediah, 66. 

Josepli, 32, 37, 40, 61, 66, 
82. 

Levi, 44, 61, 77, 80. 

Samuel, 57, 77, 86. 
Wright, Nathaniel, 72. 
Wyman, Abijah, 61, 87. 

Henry, 67, 72, 76, 80, 81, 
86. 

•Jasher, 82, 87. 

Jason, 77. 

Matthew. 29, 44, 61. 

Uriah, 44. 
WEARS, John. 79, 82. 



INDEX. 



383 



11. Colonial Soldiers of Bolton (including Berlin). 



TD AILY, Bayley, Benjamin, 
27. 

Josiah, 61. 

Silas, 61. 
Baker, Samuel, 88. 
Ball, Thomas, 27. 
Barnard, John, 36, 82. 
Barnes, Nathan, 32. 
Barney, Thomas, 86. 
Barrett, Oliver, 88. 
Beers, Jabez, 62, 66. 
Bigelow, Benoni, 66, 73, 75, 

80. 
Brooks, Isaac, 66. 
Browne, Ephraim, 65. 
Bruce, Abraham, 57, 66. 

Benjamin, 65. 

Daniel, 27, 33. 

Samuel, 27, 62. 
Butler, Ephraim, 77, 86. 
r" ARRU TH, James, 57, 66. 

■r\UNN, Henry, 81. 

PAIRBANK, Jabez, 25. 
■*■ Fife, Jonas, 61. 
Fullam, Francis, 35. 
r^ATES, Paul, 25. 
^-^ Gibbs, Hezekiah, 25, 61, 

68. 
Gill, Obediah, 6i, 82. 
Glazier, Zachariah, 57 • 
Gondale, David, 66. 
Goss, Ephraim, 81. 
Gould, Jacob, 61, 68. 
Greenleaf, Stephen, 61, 65. 
"LT ALE, Joseph, 65. 
■*■ ■'■ Hamilton, Marmaduke 

J-. 57- 
Hastings, Benjamin, 36, 61, 

65. 77, 78. 
Nathaniel, 61. 
Hazcltine, Amos, 62. 
Joseph, 68. 



Hemenway, Moses, 61. 
Hcndrick, Joseph, 82. 
Holden, Robert, 82. 
Holman, Abraham, 35. 

Charles, 32, 37. 

Jonathan, 62, 73, 75. 
Houghton, Abraham, 27. 

Cyrus, 77. 

Ephraim, 34. 

Jacob, 6i. 

John, 27, 65. 

Jotham, 65. 

Stc(jlieii, 32. 

Tmiothy, 32, 34, 55, 56, 57. 
■{/■EYES, Joseph, 65. 
-•^ Knight, Matthew, 33,62. 
Knowlton, Abraham, 32, 36. 
T ARKIN, Matthias, 65, 82. 

Law, John, 75. 
Locklen, Locklyne, Dennis, 

36, 73, 75- 
Longley, Nathaniel, 35, 61. 

Robert, 57, 82. 
IVT cBRlDE, James, 62. 
•^ •*■ McP'adden, Francis, 35, 

57, 66, 77, 80. 
McWain, Elwain, Andrew, 

77, 80. 
Marble, Benjamin, 27, 36, 73, 

75- 
Mears, Thomas, 82. 
Merriam, Amos, 66. 
Moore, Jonadab, 80. 

Jonas, 45. 

Joshua, 25. 

Josiah, 73, 75. 

Samuel, 25, 61. 
XTICHOLS, Samuel, 57. 
•^ Nurse, Samuel, 61. 
QAK, Seth, 34. 
^ Osburn, Ephraim, 61. 
pi PER, John, 62. 

Pollard, Jolm, 62, 73. 



Jonas, 73, 75. 

Oliver, 25, 34, 61. 

William, 62. 
Pratt, Abijah, 27, 62. 

Joseph, 66, 73, 75, 86. 

Josiah, 73, 75. 
Priest, Gabriel, 27, 35, 61. 

Josiah, 32, 35. sK 65, 73, 
75- 
"D ICHARDSON.John,77. 
-•■^ Roach, Edward, 75. 
Roberts, Richard, 66, 80. 
CAWYER, Aholiab. 66, 

73, 75- 

Silvanus, 35. 

William, 25, 66. 
Snow, Ezekiel, 80, 86. 

James, 62. 

Joseph, 68. 
Stearns, John, 27. 
XOWNSEND. Benjamin, 
■•■ 66, 80. 

James, 35, 61, 77, 82. 

John, 73.' 

Richard, 57. 
AyyARD, Ephraim, 73, 75. 
Wheeler, John, 65 73. 

Thomas, 27. 
Whitcomb, David, 77. 

Eleazar, 25, 35, 61. 

Israel, 25. 

Gen. John, 25, 32, 34, 35. 
53, 56, 65, 70, 82, 84. 

John, jr., 35. 57. 

Jonas, 25, 34,61,73. 

Levi, 57, 66. 

Silas, 57. 
Wilder, Ezra, 77. 

John, 73, 75. 

Jonas, 27. 57. 

William, 61, 88. 
Wilson, Elijah, 62. 
Woods, Josiah, 66, 86. 
Worster, Ebenezer, 27. 



III. Colonial Soldiers of Harvard. 



A LLEN, Daniel, 62. 
-'*■ Atherton, Benjamin, 42. 

John, 62. 

Peter, 87. 

Peter, jr., 88. 
T5ABCOCK, William, 37. 
^ Barnard, Benjamin, 02. 
Blaiichard, Simon, 34, 63. 
Bowers, Timothy, 81. 
Bray, Nathaniel, 73, 75. 
Bridge, Benjamin, 34, 57. 
Brown, David, 66, 73, 75. 

Jabez, 62. 

Jonas, 62. 
Burt, James, 81, 86. 

John, 66, 73, 75. 

William, 62. 
n LARK, Judah, 36, 63, 66. 
^ Cobleigh, John, 63. 



Nathaniel, 34. 
Cole, Abij.ah, 57, 62, 87. 

John, 67, 73,75. 
Conant, Jonathan, 62, 67. 
Conn, John, 68, 73, 75. 
Corey, Samuel, 36, 73, 75. 

Silas, 81, 86. 
Creasy, Jonathan, 43, 68. 
■p\ABY, John, 67, 73, 75. 
-»-^ Thomas, 86. 
Davidson, John, 36, 62, 67. 
Davis, Aaron, 63. 

Abel, 58, 62. 

Barnabas, 63. 

Deliverance, 62. 

Ebenezer, 27. 

John, 27. 

Jonas, 66. 

Joseph, 61, 68. 



Josiah, 27,66,73. 

Zadock, 34. 
Day, Isaac, 43, 57. 
Dickenson, David, 80. 
P MERSON, Jacob, 73.75. 
^-' Eveleth, Joseph, 62, 66. 
pAIRliANK, Amos, 62. 
^ Joseph, 88. 

Phineas, 62,88. 
Farmer, VVilliam, 27. 62, 66. 
Farnsworth, Abel, 62, 86. 

John, 43, 

Phineas, 68. 

Silas, 82. 
Farr, Daniel, 27. 

Samuel, 62. 
Fellows, Samuel, 63, 66, 86. 
Finney, Samuel, 62. 
Fox, Peter, 63. 



384 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Timothy, 6i. 
/"■ ATES, Elisha, 27, 62. 
^ Ephraim, 27. 

Isaac, 35, 62. 

Jonathan, 77. 

Josiah, 27. 

Stephen, 66, 81, 87. 

Stejihen, jr., 87. 
T_T ALE, Ambrose, 77. 
-'^ Benjamin, 34, 63. 

Gershom, 57. 

Israel, 67. 
Harper, Daniel, 43. 

John, 87. 

Samuel, 27. 

William, 27. 
Harris, Ephraim, 75. 

Jacob, 73, 75, 86. 
Haskell, Elias, 33, 43, 77. 

Ezekiel,63. 

James, 66. 

Samuel, 60, 62. 

Solomon, 66, 80. 

Stephen, 27. 
Holden, Isaac, 73, 75. 

Justinian, 27,57. 

Richard, 32. 
Holman, Nathaniel, 63. 
Holt, Abner, 27. 

Uriah, 35, 57, 82,86. 
Houghton, Aretus,67. 

Daniel, 34, 39, 63. 

John, 62, 73, 75. 

Joseph, 35,62,67. 

Nathaniel, 63. 

Thomas, 63. 

William, 34, 63. 
Hutchins, Benjamin, 32, 36, 

57, 58. 

Gordon, 32, 34, 62, 77. 
TARVIS,Luke,34. 
J Jewett, David, 27, 62. 

Maximilian, 81. 

William, 62, 67. 
TT'EEP, Jabcz, 82. 
-•^ Keyes, Elkanah, 35. 



T AUGHTON, Jeremiah, 

^ 34,63,88. 

"IV/r EAD, Samuel, 36, 62, 66. 

■'■'■*• Samuel, jr., 62. 

Merriam. John, 63. 

Metcalf, Joseph, 43. 

•lSJICKERSON,Asahel,66, 

■•■ 73.75.81. 
QSBURN, Thomas, 62. 

PARKHURST, Jonathan, 

^ 66. 

Peirce, Jonas, 63. 

Jonathan, 73, 75. 

Zebulon, 62. 
Pratt, Phineas, 27, 36. 
Preston, John, 76. 
Priest, Josiah, 62. 
Proctor, Joseph, 73. 

Josiah, 75. 
"O AND. Aaron, 63. 
■'^ Daniel, 62. 
Ray, Amos, 62, 66. 
Reed, James, 82. 

Jonathan, 63, 81, 86. 
Robbins, Ephraim, 68, 73. 
Rugg, John, 66. 
Russell, Jason, 88. 

SAMPSON, Benjamin, 27. 
David, 66. 

Jonathan, 62. 
Sanderson, Coleman, 82. 

David, 66. 

John, 82. 

Samuel, 68. 

William, 62, 73, 75. 
Sawyer, Caleb, 34, 61, 63. 

John, 35, 63. 
Skinner, William, 27. 
Snow, l^eter, 80. 
Stone, Amos, 27, 66, 73. 

Elias, 62. 

Ephraim, 86. 

Isaac, 36, 62, 68. 

Micah,62, 73,75. 

Oliver, 62. 



Stow, Benjamin, 88. 
T^AYLOR, David, 77. 
-'■ Israel, 60, 62. 

Dr. John, 67, 76. 

Phineas, 62. 
Tenney, Oliver, 34, 63. 
Tuttle, Samuel, 62. 

Stephen, 34, 63. 
V\rARNER, Nathan, 62. 
*'' Wetherbee, Joseph, 
27, 62. 

Josiah, 27. 

Samuel, 67. 

Silas, 27, 44, 62. 
Wheeler, Jonathan, 63. 
Whippy, Samuel, 73, 75. 
Whitcomb, Robert, 34, 63. 
White, Jonathan, 68, 73, 75. 

Thomas, 67. 
Whitney, Abraham, 73. 

Daniel, 27, 62. 

Hezekiah, 62, 67. 

Jeremiah, 62. 

Jonathan, 27, 66, 67, 

Josiah, 36, 62. 

Moses, 34, 63. 

Richard, 62. 

Salmon, 66. 
Whittaker, John, 62. 
Whittemore, Benjamin, 80. 
Willard, Abraham, 62, 66. 

Asa, 62, 67. 

Charles, 62. 

Hezekiah, 27. 

Peter, 63. 

Paul, 86, 87. 

Phineas, jr., 63. 

Silas, 44. 
Withinglon, William, 62. 
Worster, Abijah, 36. 

Samuel, 86. 
Wright, Caleb, 37, 80. 

Thomas, 63, 86. 



IV. Colonial Soldiers of Leominster. 



T3ALLARD. James, 61, 
-'-^ Beaman, John, 67, 80. 
Bennett, Nathan, 61. 
Boutell, Kendall, 62. 

Timothy, 67. 

William, 35. 
Brown, Aaron, 37. 
Butler, Simeon, 80. 
Buttrick, Asa, 74, 76, 80. 

John, 45. 
p ARTER, Elias, 35, 67, 74. 
^ Jonathan, 88. 

Nathaniel, 28. 

Oliver, 28. 
Clark, James, 36. 
Colburn, Nathaniel, 62. 
Cooper, Jedediaii, 87. 
Corey, Francis, 80. 



P)ABY, Joseph, 80. 
-L^ Dodge, Seth, 61. 

Zebulon, 62. 
Dutlon, Silas, 62. 
r^ ROUT, John, 62, 67. 
^^ Jonathan, 76. 
TTALE, Oliver, 61, 88. 
•*■ ■'■ Paul, 74. 
Harper, Joseph, 74,76, 81. 
Harris, Ebenezcr, 74, 76. 
Hodgkin, Samuel, 62. 
Holt, Jonathan, 62. 
Houghton, Abiathar, 25, 37, 
61. 

Gershom, 28, 

Jonathan, 57. 

Peter, 37, 57, 67. 

Rufus, 62, 74. 



Howe, Jesse, 45. 
JOHNSON, Asa. 62. 
J David, 57. 

Jonas, 36. 

Joshua, 87. 

Nathaniel, 45. 
Joyner, Edward, 81, 87. 
TT-ENDALL, Amos, 62. 
-'^ Edward, Si. 

Jonathan, 80. 
Kimball, William, 62. 
Knight, Ebenezer, 36, 77. 
T EACH, John, 61. 

]\/[ ESSARD, Jonathan,62. 
■'■'■•■ Moore, Barzillai, 82. 
pAGE, Jonathan, 62. 
^ Jonathan, jr., 61. 



INDEX. 



385 



Nathaniel, 61,67. 
Peirce, David, 62. 

Joshua, 67, 74. 
Policy, Joseph, 25, 36, 62. 
"D ICE, Ebenezer, 77. 
-'^ Ricliardson, Luke, 35, 

62. 
Robbins, David, 81. 
Rogers, Samuel, 81. 
Rowe, John, 87. 
CARTELL, Asa,62. 
'--' Henry, 61. 
Sawyer, Abijah, 82. 
Shewally, Joseph, 36. 
Simonds, James, 62, 74. 



John, 62, 67. 
Smith, Abijah, 87. 

Asa, 87. 

Reuben, 62. 
Spofford, Job, 35, 

Jonas, 35. 
Stearns, Jeremiah, 81. 
Stewart, Richard, 74, 75, 81. 

William, 62. 
Street, Benjamin, 35. 
Switzer, Philip, 57. 
q^AYLOR, Aaron, 61. 

WORBACH, Philip, 61. 



-ryALKER, Joshua, 28. 
* • Warner, William, 45, 

57, 58. 
Wheclock, Abel, 67, 74. 

Elijah, 87. 

Phineas, 57, 62. 
Whitcomb, Benjamin, 35, 36, 

62, 74, 76, 80, 83. 
White, John, 35, 80. 

Jonathan, 27, 28. 

Jonathan, jr., 37, 57, 62. 

Josiah, 80. 
Wilder, Thomas, 60, 61. 
Wood, Jonathan, 62. 
Wyman, Oliver, 62, 67. 

Reuben, 61. 



V. Lancaster Soldiers in Revolution. 



A BBOTT, Abiel, no. 
-^*- Ebenezer, 124. 
Adams, Nathan, 177. 

Samuel, 112, 124, 125, 129, 
i6g. 
Albert, Daniel, 158. 
Allen, Abel, 112, 124, 162, 
165, 176. 

Amos, 162, 164, 188. 

Ebenezer, 108, 124. 

Elisha, 109, 144. 

Jacob, 172, 181. 

Philemon, 172. 

Samuel, 177. 
Andrews, Nathaniel, 164. 
Armstrong, James, 183. 
Atherton, Jonathan, no, 126. 

Oliver, 158, 163. 
Ayres, Peter, 109, 124, 144, 

159. 237- 
T:>A1 LEY, Amherst, 169. 
Isaac, 124. 

Jonas, 131, 160, 165. 

Jonathan, in, 165, 169. 

Joseph, 129, 180. 

Josias, III. 

Samuel, in, 143, 163. 

Shubael, 144, 181. 
Baker, Cornelius, 180, 

John, no, 112, 124, 125, 
129, 142, 184. 
Ball, Elijah, 112, 144. 

William, 142. 
Ballard, Benjamin, 112, 124, 
142, 182. 

John, 109, 124, 125. 

Nathan, 169. 

Samuel, 182. 
Barnard, Jonathan, 171, 177, 
187. 

Samuel, 177. 
Barret, Samuel, 124, 1 07. 
Bartherick, Lazarus, 182. 
Bartlet, Roger, in, 144, 169, 

188. 
Battels, James, 180, 193. 

John, 180, 193. 
Beaman, Benjamin, in. 

Gamaliel, in. 



Gideon, 177. 

Jabez, 180, 192. 

Jonas, in, 125. 

Joseph, no, 124, 125, 129, 
144, 161, 162, 164, 169. 

Josepli 2d, no, 112. 

Nathaniel, 144, 176. 

William, 156. 
Bear, Alixus, 184. 
Belknap, Ebenezer, in, 144, 

158. 
Bellows, James, 169. 
Bennett, David, 146, 162. 

Jacob, 147. 

John, 112, 144. 

Joseph, 144, 184. 

Josiah, no. 

Samuel, 182. 

Thomas, 112, 142. 
Bigelow, Abel, in, 128, 144, 

180. 
Blodget, Samuel, 181. 

Thomas, in, 125, 144, 160. 
Boardman, William, 146,184. 
Books, Nathaniel, 187. 
Boston, Beckes, 187, 237. 
Bosworth, Benjamin, 162, 165. 

Nathaniel, 164. 
Bowers, John, 142, 144. 

Josiah, 112, 124, 184, 187. 

Samuel, 144. 
Bowker, Ephraim, no, 163, 

Oliver, 131, 146. 
Boynton, David A., 146. 

Ephraim, in, 121, 125. 
Brabrook, Lazarus, 159, 

(182?) 
Branscomb, Philip, 183. 
Brewer, Moses, no, 126, 165. 
Brooks, Ebenezer, 162. 

Jabez, III, 125, 182. 

John, 144, 156, 163, 165, 
171. 

Jonas, 143, 145, 159. 

Joshua, 163. 

Nathaniel, 172, 

Samuel, 177. 

Scth, in. 

Thomas, 109. 



Brown, James, 160. 

Nathaniel, in, 125, 184. 

Samuel, 157, 163, 176. 

Stanton, 144. 

Timothy, in, 163. 
Brune, Nicholas, 184. 
Brunson, Josiah, 125. 
Bunn, John, 125. 
Burditt, Daniel, 156. 

Ebenezer, 172, 176. 
Burpee, Ebenezer, 131, 146, 
157, 158, 169, 171. 

Elijah, 146, 157, 171. 

Moses, 109, 163, 

Nathan, 161, 163. 

Nathaniel, 146. 
Burt, Simeon, 144. 
Buss, Benjamin, 177. 

Ebenezer, 163. 
p/ESAR, Julius, 168, 181, 

237. ■ 
Cally, William, 124, 125, 129. 
Campbell, William, 185. 
Carter, Benjamin, 177. 

John, 187, 237. 

Jonas, 180. 

Luke, no. 

Rufus, 177. 

Samuel, 144. 

Stanton, 112, 124, 146, 159, 
164. 
Chandler, John, 163. 
Cheney, Ephraim, 144. 
Chowen, John, 107, 112, 128, 

142, 191. 
Churchel, Samuel, in, 144. 
Clark, Daniel, 124. 

James, 144. 

John, no, 174. 
Cleland, Thomas, in, 125, 

183. 
Collins, Chederholm, 187. 
Cook, Israel, in, 125, 163. 
Corey, Ephraim, 161. 

Philip, igi. 

Samuel, 171, 174, 181. 

Stephen, 172. 
Cutting, Josiah, 159. 



386 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



29. 



■RvANA, John, 112. 
-'-^ Davenport, Israel, i 
Davis, Francis, 142. 
Deputron, William, 124, 188, 

274. 
Dickenson, Moses, 161, 162. 

Samuel, 147. 
Divoll, James, 158, 162. 

John, 177. 
Dolbear, Benjamin, 164. 
Dolbee, Pardon, 172. 
Dole, Elijah, iii, 125, 126, 
147, 181. 

Enoch, 129, 136. 
Dollerson, John, 182, 191. 
Dresser, Aaron. 

Elijah, III, 125, 163. 

John, III, 183. 

Oliver, 161. 
Drewmore, John, 172. 
Dunsmoor, John, iii, 125, 

iS7> 172- 

Joseph, III. 

"William, 116, 120. 
Dunton, James, 1S7. 
■p AGER, Fortunatus, no, 
^-^ 134, 160. 

Noah, 164. 
Easterbrooks, Nathan, 112, 

124, 142, 147, 182. 
Eaton, William, 163, 
Emerson, Jonathan, 144. 
Eveleth, Isaac, 112, 124, 172, 
182, 187. 

William, 182. 

Zimori, 168, 177, 180. 
"PAIRBANK, Abel, 182. 
-'• Calvin, 125. 

Cyrus, no, 

Jabez, 134, 148, 177. 

Jonathan, no, 158, 169. 

Joshua, 112, 124. 

Josiah, 160. 

Joseph, no, 144. 

Lemuel, in. 

Luther, 147, 150, 182. 

Oliver, in, 163. 

Seth, III, 131. 

William, 144, 159, 162. 
Farmer, Benjamin, 147. 

Henry W., 112. 
Farnsworth, Elias, 146. 
Farrar, Asa, 125, 183. 

Daniel, in. 
Farwcll, John, 112. 

Joseph, 169. 

Leonard, 169. 
Flagg, Ebenezer, no, 127, 
129, 171, 185. 

Gershom, 124, 142, iSo, 
185. 
Flceman, Adam, 109. 

Daniel, 128, 147. 

David, I So. 

Solomon, 159, 162, 176. 
Fletcher, John, 124, 142, 162. 

Joshua, no. 

Peter, 160, 177. 



Phineas, 108, 109, 158. 
Flood, Samuel, 144. 

William, 142, 147, 164, 168. 
172, 187. 
Franklin, Peter, 181, 237. 
Frost, Stephen, 183. 
Fuller, Ephraim, 165, 168, 
181. 

Ignatius, 160. 

James, 109, 158. 

John, 185. 
r^ ARY, Geary, Aaron, in, 

David, 158. 

Ichabod, no, 171, 185, 187. 

Jonas, 157. 

Nathan, 131. 

Reuben, 108, 146, 162. 
Gates, Lemuel, 129, 185. 

Reuben, 176. 

Samuel, 185. 

Thomas, 108, 109, 150, 
Georges, Gideon, 181, 191, 

237- 
Gibbs, Clark, 187, 188. 
Glazier, Aaron, 125, 144, 180. 

Ebenezer, 183. 

Jacob, 159. 

Oliver, 159, 172. 
Godfrey, Salmon, 109, 134, 

144. 
Goodwin, James, 108, 109, 
158. 

Thomas, 112, 124, 185. 
Goss, Daniel, 134, 148, 237. 

Elihu, 183. 

Ephraim, in, 125, 163. 

William, 162. 
Gould, William, 187. 
Grant, Thomas, 156, 184, 

187, 203, 223. 
Graves, Luther, in, 125. 
Gray, David, in. 
Green, John, 172. 
Greenleaf, William, 135. 
Gross, Obediah, in. 
Grout, William, 164. 
TIJALE, Ephraim, i6o. 
-*• -'■ Oliver, 158, 160, 169. 

Thomas, 144. 
Hall, John, 169. 
Hammond, Thomas, 172. 
Hapgood, Shadrach, loS. 
Harrington, Abijah, 164. 
Harris, Daniel, 160, 164,174. 

Ebenezer, 174. 

William, 184. 
Harthan, Micah, 163. 
Harvey, Darius, 146. 
Haskell, Abner, 109, 158. 

Andrew, 112, 121, 122, 123, 
124, 142, 162, 165, 169, 
171, 1S7. 

Henry, 130, 146, 183. 

Jeremiah, 112, 124, 125, 
142. 
Hawks, Abijah, 112. 

John, 108, 109. 



Hayden, Hatcn, James, jr., 

160, 
Headley, Abraham, 175. 
Heard, Mark, 104, 112, 124. 
Henderson, Thomas, 169. 
Henry, Charles, 165, 237. 
Herring, Samuel, in, 182. 
Hewitt, John, 124, 142, iSi, 
Heywood, Seth, 104, in, 
121, 125, 126. 

Timothy, in, 134, 160. 
Hibris, George, in. 
Hinds, Benjamin, 125. 
Hoar, Joseph, 128, 144, 193. 

Samuel, 177. 
Holman, Samuel, in, 144. 

Solomon, in, 160, 162. 
Holt, Abial, 169. 
Hosley, David, 112, 124, 125, 

142, 162. 
Houghton, Abel, 160, 174, 
177. 

Abijah, 112, 124, 162. 

Benjamin, 112. 

Benjamin, jr., 112, 124. 

David, 144. 

Elisha, 112, 122, 128, 184. 

Ephraim, 159, 172, 174. 

James, in, 146, 168. 

Joel, III. 

Jonas, 157, 159, 160. 

Nathaniel, 146, 158, 162. 

Ohver, no. 

Samuel, 164. 

Steplien, 174. 

Thomas, 142, 146. 
House, Joseph, 180. 

Joshua, 146, 183. 
Howe, Abraham, no. 

Joseph, no. 
Hudson, William, 108. 
Hunt, Sherebiah, 159. 

JAMES, Benjamin, 124, 
142. 

Matthew, 112, 124. 
Jewett, Samuel, no, 142, 162, 
164. 

William, 109. 
Johnson, Aaron, 112. 

Elisha, 176. 

John, 147. 

Joshua, 147, 180. 

Samuel, 142, 144, 156, 171. 
176. 
Jones, Ebenezer, 134. 

Joseph, 112, 156, 162, 184. 

Nathaniel, no, 144. 
Joslin, Elias, 177. 

John, 144. 

Joseph, 112. 

Samuel, 112, 135. 
■[/■ENDALL, Eathan, 163. 
■'■^ Ephraim, 112. 

Jonathan, 112. 

Joshua, III, 125, 165. 

Josiah, III, 15S. 163. 

Noah, III, 162. 



INDEX. 



387 



Reuben, 183, 237, 
Thomas, 142, 159. 
Timothy, 159. 
William, iii, 125, 163. 
Kcndrick, John, 112, 121, 

124, 162, 164. 
Kilburn, Aaron, iii. 

Calvin, 144, 162. 

Isaac, 124. 

Jacob, 125, 174, 180. 

John, III, 184. 

Paul, 187. 

Samuel, 161, 177. 

William, 168, 171. 
TT'NIGHT, Amos, 144. 
-•^ Carter, 142, 148. 

Daniel, 112, 142, 159. 

Jonathan, 162. 
Knowlton, Asa, 188. 

Jonathan, 112, 129, 164. 
T ACY.John, 169. 
•'— ' Larkin, Benjamin, 164. 

Edmund, 112, 144, 159, 
160, 164. 

Ephraim, 159, 161, 172,187. 

)ohn, 164. 

Joseph. 177. 

Levi, 162, 183. 

Matthias, iii, 125, 183. 

Peter, no. 
Lewis, Cain, 185, 237. 

Eli, 187. 

Job, 181, 237. 

Joseph, no. 
Lippenvvell, Reuben, 112, 

144. 159, 177. 
Loring, John, 146. 
Loudonj Edom, 126, 181,237. 
Lyon, Ebenezer, 164. 

Simeon, in. 
TV/TANN, Ebenezer, 164. 
■'-'■'- Manning, Israel, in, 

125, 183. 
John, no, 142. 
Peter, 124, 142, 162. 

Mason, Paul, 169. 

Samuel, 163. 
May, Benjanun, 146. 

John, 109, 134, 135. 

Levi, 146, 163, 169. 

Thomas, 131. 
Maynard.Artemas, 144,183. 

Spencer, 164. 
McBnde, George, 187. 
McCoy, John, 127, 185. 
Mclntyre, Gilbert, 185. 
Mears, il/v/'<?J, John, 124,125. 

Thomas, in, 144. 
Miller, Jacob, 164. 
Milligan, Edmund, 1S3. 
Moore, Abel, 181. 

Calvin, in, 144, 163. 

Ezra, 172. 

Hugii, III. 

John, 147. 

Jonathan, 177. 

Oliver, 131, 163. 

Reuben, in, 125. 



Robert, 169. 

Thomas, 172, 176. 
Mosman, Samuel, 146. 
'M'EEE, Patrick, 1S7. 
■'■^ Nelson, Jonathan, 163. 
Newman, John, 184, 191. 
Newton, Edward, no, 134, 
163. 

Jonathan, 169. 

Joseph, 164. 

Marshall, 164. 
Nichols, John. 142, 147, 169. 

Joseph, 158. 
Norcross, Jacob, 158. 
Nowell, Joseph, 164. 

Stephen, 177. 

OSGOOD, David, 116,163. 
Joel, 108. 

Moses, 129, 142. 

Nathan, 127, 183. 
pAGE, Daniel, 144, 162. 
-'■ Palmer, William, in, 

131, 163. 
Parker, Jacob L., 181. 

John, 171, 172. 
Parkins, Benjamin, 144. 

Ephraim, 164. 

Nathaniel, 187. 
Parmenter, Nathan, 144. 
Patterson, Joseph, 165. 
Payne, Isaac, 187, 
Pearson, John, in, 177. 

Joseph, 144, 160, 162. 

Josiah, III, 125. 
Peirce, Jonathan, 163. 
Phelps, Aaron, 169. 

Asel, no. 

Elisha, 176. 

Jacob, 112, 124. 144, iSi. 

Joseph, 109, 112, 124, 177. 

Joshua, 159, 162. 

Josiah, 109, 112, 124, 150, 
156, 162, 

Levi, 172. 

Phinehas, 156, 176. 

Rawson, 172. 

Robert, 109, 122, 124. 

Samuel, 164, 171. 

William, no, 124, 158. 

Winslow, 124, 182. 
Phillips, Abijah, 112, 124, 
142, iSo. 

Jonathan, 109, in, 125. 
Pike, David, 125, 146, 157, 
169. 

Ebenezer, in, 125, 158. 

Ephraim, 125, 162,169,171. 

Jacob, 124. 

William, 172. 
Piper, Calvin, 187. 

Jacob, III, 125, 144. 

judah, 142, 1S3. 
Powers, Ephraim, in, 144, 
163. 

Jonas, 162. 

Manasseh, in, 125. 

Oliver, in. 
Pratt, James, 1S7. 



Prentice, Elislia, 125. 

John, 169. 

Samuel, 177. 

William, 180. 
Prescott, Ebenezer, 147. 

Hiram, 131, 

John, 109. 

Jonas, 112, 124. 

Jonatlian, in, 163. 

Peter. 131, 163. 
Price, Edward, 169. 
Priest, Benjamin, 144, 147. 

Eleazer, 147, 180. 

Elijah, 161. 

John, 147, 158, 169, 181, 
185. 

Levi, 161, 174, 181. 
Prosser, Thomas, 125. 
Prouty, Burpee, iSo. 

Elisha, III, 157. 
Puffer, Jonathan, loS. 
Putnam, John, 172. 

Peter, 157, 168. 

William, 163. 

William, jr., i"^8, 163. 
"P ICE, A\ny,i\\Abia/i, 168, 
-'•^ 177, 182. 

Daniel, 177. 

Jonas, 144, 157. 

Luther, 125, 144, 183. 

Samuel, in, 125, 193. 

Silas, III. 
Richardson, Abel, 163, 171. 

Benjamin, 161. 

Ephraim, in, 121, 125. 

George, 124, 182. 

James, 161. 

Resolved, 169. 

Robert, 181, 

Tilley, 158, 163. 

William, no, 142, 
Robbins, Benjamin, 160. 

Daniel, no. 

David, no, 122, 124, 125. 

Jacob, III, 144. 

John, no, 162. 

Levi, 160, 176. 
Rodman, Peleg, 182. 
Rogers, Perley, 180, 237. 
Roper, Asa, 131. 

Benjamin, 172. 

Enoch, 162, 164, 169, 172, 
174. 

John, 161, 163, 177. 

Manasseh, 163. 

Nathaniel, 146, 158. 

Sylvester, 160, 177. 
Ross, Ebenezer, in, 158,163. 

Jonathan, 112, 124, 144. 

Micah, 187. 

Reuben, 157, 159, 174, 176. 

Seth, III, 125, 144, 183. 

Stephen, 160. 

Thomas, in. 
Rugg, Aaron, 158, 161. 

Amos, 142. 

Asa, 108, 125, 157, 183. 

Daniel, 134. 



388 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Elijah, 162. 

Elisha, 112, 124, 142, 161. 
Ephraim, 144. 
Joshua, 144, 158, 162. 
Russell, James, 181. 

SADLER, Benjamin, 164. 
Sampson, David, 158. 

Seth, 187. 
Sargent, Amos, 158. 

John, 172. 

Seth, 109. 
Savage, Joseph, 125, 129. 
Sawtell, Solomon, 161. 

Thomas, 146. 
Sawyer, Aaron, 163. 

Abel, 168, 172, 176. 

Abner, 146, 183. 

Amos, 162. 

Calvin, 168. 

Cornelius, 163. 

Eber, 112, 124, 168, 174. 

Elisha, 135, 163. 

Ephraim, 116, 120, 134, 
147. 

Ephraim, jr., 125, 135, 183, 
184. 

Ezra, III, 131. 

Jacob, 159, 162, 168, 174. 

James, 125, 180. 

jeduthan, 172, 187. 

John, III. 

Jonathan, 112, 121, 124. 
142, 182. 

Joseph, 127. 
Joshua, III, 

Jude, III, 125. 

Lemuel, 109. 

Manasseh, iii, 135, 146, 

158. 

Moses, no. 

Nathaniel, 112, 135, 144. 

Paul, 112, 169, 172, 180. 

Samuel, in, 131, 135, 143, 
144. 

Samuel, jr., 109, 168, 

Thomas, in, 146. 

Thomas, jr., in 163. 
Seaver, Joseph, 131, 158. 
Severy, Thomas, 164. 
Shattuck, Timothy, 160. 
Shaw, William, no, 124, 125, 

1S5. 
Shed, Lemuel, 164, i58, 180, 

181, 188. 
Simes, Onis, 183. 
Skinner, Robert, iSi, 191. 
Smith, Asa, in. 

Asa, jr., in. 

Benjamin, 125, 144, 165. 

Lewis, 164. 

Thomas, 125. 
Snow, John, 146, 156. 

Samuel, 163, 171, 174, 176. 
Spofford, John, in, 162. 
Stacy, John, 164. 
Sprague, Hosca, 172. 
Staples, William, 184. 
Stearns, Asa, no. 



Benjamin, 165. 

Timothy, 144. 

Stiles, Jacob, 185. 

Joshua, 158. 
Stuart, Charles, 180, 237. 
John, 131. 
Solomon, 134, 163. 
T^AFT, Nathan, 157, 188. 
-•- Taylor, Nathaniel, 156, 
160, 162. 
William, 184. 
Temple, Francis, 157. 
Tenney, Amos, 177. 
Jonathan, 171. 
Oliver, 161. 
Tew, Peter, 184. 
Thayer, Abel, 160. 
Thomas, Edward, 142. 
Thompson, James, 177. 
Jonathan, in, 163. 
Samuel, in, 131, 163. 
Stephen, 182. 
Thurston, John, 112, 144, 
164. 
Peter, 108. 
Samuel, no, 
Tigh, Cornelius, 181. 
Tower, Isaac, in, 125. 
Tucker, Jonathan, 177. 
AXAALL, James, 125. 
* '' Ward, Uriah, 109. 
Warner, John, 124, 142, 147, 
181. ■ 
Levi, 142, 168. 
Warren, Isaac, 184, 
Wheeler, John, in, 125, 142, 

180. 
Wheelock, Benjamin, i5o, 
182. 
David, 177. 
John, 112, 124, 129, 159, 

160, 169. 
John 2d, 159, 161, 162, 176, 

185. 
Jonathan, 129, 142, 182. 
Joseph, 146, 182. 
Oliver, 158, 169, 172, 176. 
William, 112. 
Whitcomb, Abner, 160. 
Asa, 105, 106,110, 114, 117, 

118, 119, 120, 121, 126, 

132, 133. 134. 13s. 137 to 

141. 
David, 144, 158, 181. 
Enoch, 142, 158. 
Ephraim, 127, 187. 
Francis, iSi. 
Hezekiah, 144. 
John, 143, 160. 
Jonathan, 131, 159, 171, 

174, 176. 
Jonathan P., 108. 
Phineas, 158. 
Samuel, 159. 
Whitakcr, David, no, 162. 
White, Abijah, 161. 
Elisha, 146. 
Ephraim, 162, 176, 1S7. 



John, no. 

John, jr., 109, 134, 162, 176. 

Jonathan, no, 124. 

Joseph, no, 160. 

Levi, 174. 

Nathaniel, no, 144. 

Nathaniel 2d, no, 124, 

131- 
Whiting, John, 4, 182. 

Timothy, 185. 
Whitney, Caleb, no, 163, 
183. 
Case, 188. 
Elisha, 144. 
Hanamiah, 177. 
Jonathan, no. 
Joshua, III, 125, 183. 
Whittemore, Benjamin, 

III. 
John, 164. 
Wilder, -Asaph, 158. 
Asa, no. 
Calvin, 160. 
Daniel, 160. 
David, 158, 163. 
Elihu, 163, 169. 
Elijah, no, 144, 156, 158, 

163. 
Ephraim, 146. 
Ephraim, jr., 131, 163. 
Jacob, III, 124. 
Jacob 2d' 112, 125, 156, 

161, 162, 164, 185. 
James, 164, 172, 176. 
John, 185. 
Jonathan, no. 
Jonathan, jr., no, in, 144, 

177. 
Josiah, no. 
Jotham, 124, 142, 159, 162, 

164. 
Levi, 131, 134, 144, 183. 
Luke, 150, 162. 169. 
Luther, 177. 
Moses, no. 
Nathan, 160. 

Phineas, no, 162, 169, 175. 
Reuben, 160, 168, 171, 177. 
Samuel, 112, 134, 160. 
Stephen, 112. 
Timothy, in, T31, 146. 

181. 
Titus, 112. 
William, 112. 
Wiles, Ephraim, 156. 
Wills, Jiles or Falls, in, 128. 
Willard, Aaron, 130. 
Aaron 2d, 172, 174, 183. 
Artemas, 160, 174. 
Daniel, 147, 171, 177. 
David, 109. 
Ephraim, 109, 163. 
Israel, 109, 122, 124, 127. 
James, 142, 182. 
John, 112, 142, 163, 169, 

172. 
Joshua, 146, 158, 163, 169. 
Peter, 180. 



INDEX. 



389 



Winch, David, 159. 
Winn, John, 146, 157, 159, 
172. 

Josiah, 144. 
Winship, Ephraim, iii, 125. 
Wood, Elisha, 162, 164, 168, 
176. 

George, 164. 

Jonathan, 164. 

Joseph, 144. 

Jotham, 171, 185, 188. 

Samuel, I82. 



Woodward, Topsal, 187,237. 
Wright, Abel, 144, 183. 

Ephraim, iii, 163. 

Joseph, 158. 

Nathaniel, iii, 174. 

Samuel, 169, 172. 

Thomas, iii, 162, 182. 
Wyman, Abel, 112, 124, 125. 

Asa, 181. 

Daniel, 112, 124, 142, 150, 
182. 

Ephraim, iii. 



Jasher, 144. 
Jesse, 187. 
John, 159, 168, 181. 
Jonas, 109, 144. 
Matthew, 183. 
Silas, 164. 
yOUNGER, Robert, 142. 

VWEAR, Zeiver, Jacob, 
^ 109, 144, 274. 
Peter, 187. 



VI. Bolton Soldiers in Revolution. 



A MSDEN, Abet, 164. 
■'*■ Joseph, 115, 147. 
Atherton, Eliakim, 117, 121, 

151- 

Matthew, 172, 174. 

Thomas, 116. 
Bailey, Benjamin, 116, 191. 

Ebenezer, 116, 165, 172. 

Silas, 134, 162. 

Silas, jr., 116, 145. 

Stephen, 116. 

Timothy, 116, 160. 
Baker, Abel, 148, 151, 165, 
169. 

Samuel, 151. 

Samuel, jr., 116, 145, 151, 
156. 
Ball, Jonathan, 191. 

Nathan, 115, 159. 
Barnard, John, 116, 143, 147, 
161, 168, 172. 

John, jr„ 191. 
Barret, Lemuel, 161. 

Oliver, 116. 
Bartlett, Adam, 145. 
Bigelow, William, 115, 128, 

14s, 172, 191. 
Blair, Timothy, 165. 
Blood, Joseph, 108, 109, 128. 

Samuel, 116, 145. 
Bridge, James, 107, 115, 128. 

191.' 
Brigham, Abraham, 191. 

John, 158. 
Bruce, Benjamin, 109, 145. 

Benjamin, jr., 145, 156,191. 

Daniel, 145, 191, 

Isaiah, 116. 

John, 116. 

Jonas, 145. 

Lemuel, 115. 

Samuel, ii6. 
Buck, Isaac, 128, 191. 

Moses, 190. 
Burges, William, 161, 165, 
Burnham, Jeremiah, 191. 

John, 148, 172, 191. 

Thomas, 128, 156, 193. 
Bush, Jonathan, 160, 169. 
r^AMFBELL, James, 190. 
^ Carter, Daniel, 160. 
Chamberlain, Ephraim, 116. 



Wilder, 169. 
Chowen, John, 107, 112, 128, 

142, 191. 
Coolidge, John, ii6, 128,142, 
148, 160. 

Josiali, 115, 127. 

Stephen, 158, 169, 172. 

William, 116, 147, 158,176, 
190. 
Crosman, James, igi. 
Curtis, Timothy, 192. 
■pjOLLERSON. John,i82. 
■'-^ 191. 

"P AGER, Haran, 161, 192. 
-'-^ Edwards, JoSiah, 116, 

128. 
pAIRBANK, Ephraim, 
■'■ 115, 127, 160. 

Jabez, 116, 148. 
Fay, Asa, 116. 

John, 164. 
Ferrin, Michael, 190. 
Fife, James, 147, 163. 

Robert, 116. 
Flood, James, 116. 
Fosgate, Ezekiel, 150. 

Joel, 115. 
Foster, Elijah, 115, 191. 

Israel, 116. 

Samuel 177. 
French, Jacob, 116, 128. 

John, 190. 
Fuller, Amos, 116. 
/""ALE, Jonathan, 164. 
^-^ Gates, Cyrus, 115, 116. 

Joseph, 148. 

Levi, 142. 

Simeon, 142. 
Georges, Gideon, 181, 191. 
Gibbs, Daniel, 148. 

Joseph, 148. 

Hezekiah, 115. 
Goddard, Gordon, 168. 

James, 150, 158. 

Josiah, 191. 
Gould, Benjamin, 115, 128, 

145, 160. 
Goss, Elihu, 125, 183. 
Greenleaf, Calvin, 177. 

Daniel, 143, 177. 

David, 158. 

John, 145. 



H 



ARRIS, Daniel, 174. 
Haskell, Benjamin, 160, 



Moses, 168, 172, 192. 
Hastings, Benjamin, 115,121, 
122, 123, 127, 160, 168. 

John, 115, 128, 145, 191. 

Nathaniel, 115. 

Stephen, 158. 
Hay den, Haten, James, 160. 
Hazard, Levi, igi. 
Hazeltine, Daniel, 177. 

Richard, 116, 128, 142. 
Hemenway, David, 147, 164. 

Simeon, 109, 126, 129. 
Hill, John, 191. 
Hodson, Elisha, 116. 
Holland, Ephraim, 164. 
Holman, Abraham, 115. 

Calvin, 115. 

Nathaniel, 115, 147, 159, 
174. 

Silas, 158. 
Hoppin, John, 158. 
Houghton, Jacob, 116, 159. 

James, 174. 

John, 115, 128, 145, i6c, 

Jonas, 147, 159. 

Jonathan, 115, 121, 127, 
134, 143, 145, 164. 

Joseph, 128, 144, 148. 159, 
161, 164. 

Joseph, jr., 164, 191. 

Rufus, 172, 192. 

Sanderson, 115, 116. 

Simon, 115, 163. 
How, Artemas, 116. 

David, 129. 

Joseph, 116, 131, 134, 148, 

151. 

Solomon, 164. 
Howard, Edward, 191. 
Hudson, John, 129. 

Moses, 129, 160, 190. 
T EWETT, Jesse, 147. 
J Joseph, 164, 169, 

Oliver, 116, 128. 
Johnson, Asa, 116, 191. 

Edward, 145, 191. 

Jonas, 116, 129, 142, 145, 
177, 191. 

Joshua, 116. 



39C> 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Jones, Nathan, ii6. 

Samuel, ii6, 128. 

Samuel, jr., 116. 

Solomon, 116, 129, 145, 
150, 191. 

William, 116. 
Joy, Richard, 191. 
~~EYES, Joseph, 145, 148. 



K^ 



T ONGLEY, Abram, 169. 
■'-' Eli, 169, 172. 

John, 128, 14s, 156. 

Nathaniel, 116, 145, 163. 

Robert, 116, 121, 122, 128, 

143- 
TV/r CBRIDE, Thomas, 109. 
■'■'-'- William, 160. 
McDonald, Daniel, igi. 
Mclntire, James, 192. 
McWain, Andrew, 115, 191. 
Marble, Benjamin, 115. 
Martin, Edward, 158, 163. 
Mason, Thomas, 148, 163. 
Maynard, David, 145. 

Josiah, 148. 

Jothani, 116. 
Meriam, Levi, 115, 145. 

Jonathan, 115, 121, 128. 
Moore, Abel, 115, 128, 181, 
191. 

Abner, 115, 127, 144, 191. 

David, 115, 127, 148, 159, 
160. 

Gardner, 109, 128, 147. 

Isaac, 148. 

Jacob, 116, 163. 

John, 147, 159, 164, 192. 

Josiah, 115. 

Phineas, 116. 

Reuben, 191. 

Rufus, 160, 168, 174, 177. 

Samuel, 165, 168. 

Uriah, 163. 

Willard, 142. 158. 
Mosman, foshua, 148. 

Oliver, 148. 

Timothy, 115, 128, 150. 
Munger, Jonathan, 191. 
Muzzy, Benjamin, 116. 
■XTEWMAN, John, 184, 
■'■ 191. 

Nourse, Asa, 116. 

Benjamin, 116. 



David, 107, 116, 134, 148, 
162. 

John, 150. 

Jonathan, 116. 
r\AKS, Beriah, 116, 174. 
^-^ Nathaniel, 115, 172. 
Osburn, Thomas, 116, 134. 
Osgood, Amos, 116. 
piERCE, John, 116. 
■^ Piper, Abel, 116, 147. 
Plato, Negro, 191. 
Pollard, Thaddeus, 116. 

Thomas, 116. 

Walter, 160, 177. 

William, 116, 134, 158. 
Powers, Henry, 147. 

John, 147. 
Pratt, Joseph, 115, 128, 191. 

Stephen, 145. 
Priest, Abel, 147, 148, 159, 
169, 172, 192. 

Gabriel, 109, 116, 128, 163. 

Jeremiah, 115. 

Job, 127, 191. 

Jonathan, 116. 
"D ICE, David, 116. 
-'■^ Eliakim, 145. 

Harry, 160. 
Robbins, Jonathan, 116. 
Ross, John, 115. 

William, ii5, 128. 145, 148, 
172. 
Rugg, Joseph, 145. 
Ruggles, York, 151. 190. 
C ALT, Joseph, 190. 
*~-' Sawyer, Benjamin, 128, 
142, 160, 164. 

Barnabas, 148, 176. 

George, 116, 129, 145, 148. 

Israel, 115, 128. 

Joseph, 116, 142, 148. 

Josiah, 115, 156. 

Josiah, jr., 115, 165. 

William, 115, 128. 

William, 115, 128, 145,165. 
Skinner, Robert, 181, 191. 
Snow, James, 159, 191. 
Smith, Silvanus, 121, 183, 

193- 

Ephraim, 121. 
Southgate, Amos, 128. 
Stanhope, Peter, 147. 

Samuel, 115. 
Stiles, David, 116. 



Stratton, David, 116. 
T^HERON, Antony, 191. 
-*- Townsend, Abraham, 
164. 
James, 115. 
John, 116, 148. 
Joshua, 115. 
Richard, 108, 134, 158.159, 

163. 
Richard 2d, 163, 176. 
Robert, 142, 148, 164. 
WAUGHAN, Robert, 191. 

VyALCOTT, Jabez, 116. 

Jesse, 145, 158, 165. 
Wassels, Thomas, 192. 
Welch, John, 115. 

Jonas, 116, 128, 159, 161. 

Silas, 115, 128. 
Wetherby, David, 160. 
Wheeler, Deliverance, 145, 
Whitcomb, Abel, 147. 

Elihu, 160. 

Ezra, 142. 

John, 105, 106, 110, 112, 
113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 

119, I20. 

John, jr., 156, 165. 

Jonas, 116. 

Jonathan, 115. 

Jonathan, jr., 116, 148, 159, 

Jotham, 148, 161. 

Nathaniel, 172. 

Paul, 116. 

Richard, 147. 

Silas, 142, 163. 

William, 109, 128, 145,159. 
White, Enoch, 163. 

Samuel, 115. 

William, 115. 
Whitney, Abraham, 115. 

Ephraim. 116, 145, 169, -^ 
176. 

John, 192. 
Whybert, William, 191. 
Wilder, Abel, 147, 158, 176. 
Wilson, Jeremiah, 115. 

John, 115, 148, 160, 164. 

Paul, 147, 168. 

Solomon, 164. 
Wood, Joseph, 114, 116, 128, 

143. 14S, 191. 
Worcester, Ebenezer, 116. 



VII. Harvard Soldiers in Revolution. 



A DAMS, Jonathan, 114, 
■^*- 127. 

Amsden, Adam, 168. 
Atherton, Joel, 193. 

John, 114, 173, 177, 193. 

Joseph, 114, 

Joseph 2d, 114, 147. 

Samuel, 148, 192, 215. 
TDALDWIN, David, 142, 
^ 176. 
Barnard, Benjamin, 114. 



Ephraim, 114. 

Jotham, 115. 

Moses, 121. 
Barret, Samuel, 192. 
Beaman, Jabez, 180, 192. 
Bennett, William, 114. 
Blanchard, Joseph, 114, 115, 
126, 129, 148. 

John, 177. 

Lysaias, 165. 

Simon, 192, 



Bowers, Joshua, 114, 127. 
Bridges, Benjamin, 148, 169, 

173- 

Jeremiah, 114, 148, 192. 
Brown, Samuel, 115. 

Thaddeus, 159, 173. 
Burbank, Isaac, 161. 
Burges, Ebenezer, 114. 

Solomon, 126. 

Thomas, 148, 192. 
Burnham, Thomas, 193. 



INDEX. 



39^ 



Zadock, 192. 
Burt, Daniel, 126, 192. 

James, 115, 121, 122, 123, 
126, 131, 148, 164. 

James, 156, 163, 164. 

William, 114, 148. 
(-'HAMBERLAIN, Thos., 
^ 114, 126, 192. 
Cheney, Edward, 114. 
Clark, Jonathan, 114,126,163. 
Coburn, Titus, 192. 
Cole, Abijah, 173. 
Conant, Reuben, 147, 192. 

Simeon, 173, 174. 
Coon, George, 115. 
Cooper, Simon, 115, 148. 
Cox, Ezekiel, 113, 192. 
Crouch, Isaac, 163. 

Jonathan, 115, 165. 

Timothy, 115. 
Cutler, Benjamin, 114. 
"rjABY, Elnatlian, 192. 
■*-^ John, 114, 134, 158, 169. 

yohn, 114. 
Davis, Aaron, 115. 

Ebenezer, 113, 127. 

Ephraim, 115, 134, 148. 

Jacob, 113, 122, 127, 192. 

Jonas, 192, 193. 

Jonathan, 113,121,122,127. 

Jonathan 2d, 114. 

Josiah, 114, 127. 

Micah, 158. 

Samuel, 148, 163. 

Thomas, 169. 
Dodge, Reuben, 126,129,192. 

Thomas, 164. 
Dudley, John, 161, 193. 
P DVVARD, Oliver, 159. 

pAIRBANK, Amos, 114, 

134- 

Cyrus, 114, 127. 

Jacob, 174, 177. 

Joseph, 114. 

Levi, 114, 148. 

Phineas, 114. 
Farmer, Simon, 128, 143,147. 
Farley, Benjamin, 164. 
Farnsworth, Abel, 115. 

Asa, 114. 

Harbour, 165. 

John, 113. 

Jonathan, 148, 192. 

Joseph, 147. 

Lemuel, 114. 

Levi, 192. 

Manasseh, 14S, 192. 

Nathaniel, 114. 

Phineas, 115. 

Samuel, 114, 147, 192. 
Farr, Francis, 114, 127, 158. 

William. 169, 
Farwell, David, 115, 161,169. 

John S., 115, 126. 
Fay, Joseph, 126. 
Finney, Phinney, Joel, 109, 
114, 126. 



Samuel, 114, 126, 192. 
Fry, Joseph, 142, 148, 156, 

192. 
Fullam, Elisha, 113, 121, 127. 
158. 

Jacob, 113, 127. 

Phineas, 164. 
Furbush, Daniel, 114. 

James, 159. 

Samuel, 114, 127. 
n ARFIELD, Nathan, 159. 
^-"^ Reuben, 113, 127, 168. 
Gates, Isaac, 114. 

Josiah, 114, 127. 
Gleason, George, 114, 127, 

164, 165. 
TLJ ALE, Benjamin, 173,176, 
193. 

Isaac, 114. 

Israel, 161, 174, 192. 

John, 159. 

Moses, 115. 
Hamlin, America, 168, 173, 

174. 176. 

Europe, 165. 
Harris, William, 114,127,192. 
Haskell, James, 113. 

Josiah, 114. 

Lemuel, 114. 

Oliver, 169, 173, 176. 

Samuel, 160. 

Solomon, 113, 127, 148. 

William, 114, 126, 163. 
Haven, Asa, 114. 
Hazletine, Nathaniel, 159, 

173. 193- 
Hill, John, 147, 148, 159, 163. 

Samuel, 114, 134, 148. 
Holden, Isaac, 114, 126. 
Houghton, David, 115. 

Elijah, 114. 

Elisha, 184, 192. 

John, 114. 

Jonathan, 168, 173. 

Joseph, 114, 148. 
Hutchins, Jacob, 164. 

Jonathan, 148, 192. 

Samuel, 174. 
T/" EEP, Jabez, 113, 121,126, 
■'^ 192. 

Jabez, jr., 115, 134, 143, 
148, 192, 193. 
Kingman, Malberry, 114. 
Knight, Daniel, 193. 

John, 114. 

Joseph, 114. 
Laughton, Daniel, 147. 

Jeremiah, 114,117,120,127. 

Jolin, 147. 

Thomas, 164. 
Lawrence. Benjamin, 114, 

127. 
Longley, Joseph, 193. 
Lund, Jesse, 192. 
]\/T CCOY, John, 127. 
■'■*-'• Mead, Asa, 193. 

Jason, 193. 

John, 113, 121, 127, 158. 



Oliver, 114. 

Samuel, 115. 
Munroe, Abraham, 114, 127, 

192. 
r^AKS, John, 173, 192. 

pAGE, Daniel, 176. 
^ Park, Parks, Andrew, 
127. 

Joseph, 115, 127. 

William, 115, 148, 160, 165. 
Parker, David, 193. 

Eieazar, 160, 192. 

John, 176. 
Patterson, Nicholas, 114. 
Peabody, Thomas, 161. 
Perry, James, 115. 
Phelps, Timothy, 115. 
Pollard, Jonathan, 113. 

Thaddeus, 113, 127, 163. 

Walter, 176. 
Pratt, Thomas, 113, 127. 
Priest, Aaron, 114, 127, 165, 
16S. 

Jacob, 114, 127, 158. 

Jeremiah, 114. 

John, 114. 

Joseph, 164. 

Philemon, 114, 147, 148. 
Procter, William, 192. 
Puffer, Jonathan, 147, 
OAMSDELL, Freedom, 
-^ 165. 

Nehemiah, 158, 160. 
Rand, Silas, 115. 
Randall, Stephen, 114. 
Reed, Abijah, 115. 

Jonathan, 114. 
Robbins, Benjamin, 114,127. 

Jacob, 115, 156. 

James, 127. 
Russell, Samuel, 160, 168. 
C AFFORD, Ward, 115. 
*^ William, 114, 126. 
Sampson, Aaron, 192. 
Sanderson, Coleman, 115. 

Gideon, 127. 

Isaac, 127, 192, 

William, 114, 159. 
Saussure, Francis, 192. 
Sawyer, Caleb, 115. 

John, 114. 

Jonathan, 114. 

Manasseh, 114. 
Scollay, John, 173, 177, 193. 
Secomb, Willis, 115. 
Shattuck, Thaddeus, 158. 
Stearns, David, 115. 

Jonathan, 163, 164, 173. 
192. 
Stevens, Luther, 169. 

William, 142, 148. 

Zaccheus, 114. 
Stickney, Peter, 160. 
Stone, David, 159, 173, 174, 
177. 

Joel, 115. 

Lemuel, 115, 



392 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



William, 192. 
Stow, Benjamin, 114, 147, 
Manasseh, 114, 127, 147, 

158, 173- 
Swatridge, Joseph, 128, 193. 
Symonds, Jonathan, 114,143, 

148, 156, 163. 
"yAYLOR, Charles, 115. 
•*- Israel, 114. 
Todd, John, 164, 168. 
Topliffj Luther, 192. 
Turner, Consider, 143, 192. 

Dwelly, 148. 

James, 127. 

Prince, 114, 159. 
Tuttle, Titus, 193. 
VyARNER, Aaron, 115. 
^* Abijah, 114. 

Benjamin, 147, 160, 174. 

Calvin, 159. 

Charles, 113, 127, 148. 

Ebenezer, 114, 127, 158. 

Elias, 192, 193. 

John, 173. 

Phineas, 148, 159, 174. 
Wentworth, Edmund, 193. 



Wetherby, Abel, 129, 141, 
159, 160. 

Amos, 141, 169. 

Caleb, 129. 

Joseph, 115, 127. 

Oliver, 115. 
Wheeler, Joseph, 114. 
Whitcomb, Abel, 115. 

James, 115. 

Oliver, 115. 
White, Thomas, 114. 
Whitney, Aaron, 115. 

David, 113, 163. 

Hezekiah, 115, 134, 163. 

Isaiah, 114, 115. 

Israel, 114, 158. 

Jacob, 114, 127, 156, 169. 

Joel, 169, 173. 

John, 148, 192. 

Jonathan, 173. 

Jonas, 159. 

Josiah 2d, 114, 147, 163. 

Josiah, 117, 120, 131, 134, 
141, 150, i5i, 163. 

Oliver, 114. 

Phineas, 129, 192, 193. 

Reuben, 156. 



Richard, 114, 158, 163. 

Salmon, 147, 173. 

Silas, 115. 

Simon, 115, 148. 

Solomon, 156. 

Stephen, 148, 176. 
Willard, Abraham. 114, 165. 

Barzilliai, 114. 

Benjamin, 114, 126, 192. 

Benjamin W., 169. 

Elijah, 114. 

Gibson, 114. 

Jeremiah, 109, 115, 127. 

Joseph, 114. 

Josiah, 114. 

Lemuel, 114. 

Lemuel 2d, 114. 

Oliver, 148. 

Phineas, 114. 

Reuben, 168. 

Simeon, 114, 148. 

Timothy, 115. 

William, 163. 
Willis, James, 115, 192. 
Woods, John, 113. 
Worcester, Abijah, 114, 127. 

Samuel, 114, 127, 192. 



VIIL Leominster Soldiers in Revolution. 



B^ 



ALDRICH, Luke, 113, 
•^^ 193. 

)AILEY, Shubael, 156, 
166, 181, 194. 
Barret, Samuel, 173. 
Battles, James, 180, 193. 

John, "128, i8o, 193. 
Beaman, Joseph, 112. 
Bellows, Joseph, 113, 
Bennett, John, 112. 

Tolham, 113. 
Blood, Levi, 128,173,193,194. 
Boutell, David, 113, 146, 164. 

James, 112, 128, 143. 

John, 164. 

Samuel, 168, 173, 176. 

Timothy, 113, 121, 128. 

William, 112, 164. 
Bowers, John, 112, 126, 142, 

163." 
Brown, Amos, 113, 128. 

Benjamin, 160, 173. 

Nathaniel, 184. 
Buss, Ephraim, 113. 

John, 143, 193. 

Samuel, 113, 128. 
Butler, Abijah, 113, 163. 

Ebenezer, 163. 

James, 128. 
Buttrick, Asa, 166, 194. 
r-ARPENTER. William, 

^ 193- 

Carter, Abijah, 163. 

Elisha, 128. 

Ephraim, 112. 

Josiah, 117. 

Josiah, jr., 113, 128, 146, 
163. 



Nathaniel, 112. 

Phineas 2d, 113, 156, 176. 

Phineas, 113. 

Silas, 142, 193. 
Chapman, Nathaniel, 113, 

128. 
Chase, Enoch, 113. 

Jonas, 177. 

Stephen, 113, 128. 
Clark, David, 113, 128, 142, 

168. 
Colburn, Daniel, 193. 

John, 113, 163. 

Jonathan, 113, 128, 163. 

Josiah, 113, 128. 

Nathan, 113, 129, 159. 
Cuffreer, Pomp, 193, 
Cummings, Caleb, 112. 
"PEARLING, Daniel, 193. 
^-^ Davis, Elisha, 193, 194. 
Durham, Nicholas, 193. 
Dodge, Noah, 113. 
"pAMES, Charles, 112. 
■*— ' Evans, Nathaniel, 113, 
129, 142. 193. 

Charles, 128. 
pAIRBANK, Elijah, 112. 
■'■ Fleeman, David, 112, 

128, 180. 
Follinsbee, Thomas, 159. 
Fowler, Richard, 113. 
Fuller, Edward, 142. 
pAFFIL, Elijah, 113. 
^^ Gary, Benjamin, 113. 

Thomas, 113. 
Gates, Jonas, 112, 164. 

Jonathan, 121. 

Reuben, 113, 128, 



Goodnow, Abraham, 113. 
Graves, \_Lufher\ , 143. 

HALE, Benjamin, 112, 
128. 

Calvin, 159. 

David, 112, 128, 159. 

Israel, 142. 

Joel, 159, 173. 

John, 112, 128. 

Samuel, 112. 

Silas, 164, 173. 
Harkness, Thomas, 113. 
Haskell, Abijah, 113, 128. 
Hoar, Joseph, 193. 
Houghton, Abiathar, 112, 
126, 143, 164. 

Abraham, 112. 

Ebenezer, 129, 163. 

Oliver, 113. 

Robert, 142, 159. 

Rufus, 113. 

Samuel, 168. 
T EVVETT, John, 112. 
J Johnson, Asa, 156, 176. 

Benjamin, 176. 

David, 142, 166, 194. 

Ephraim, 173, 194. 

Joseph, 176. 

Luke, 113, 128, 159. 

Nathan, 113. 
Jones, Samuel, 168. 
Joslin, David. 194. 

James, 113. 

John 2d, 193. 

John, 113. 

Joseph, 113. 

Nathaniel, 176. 

Thomas, 146. 



INDEX. 



393 



■iy"ENDALL, Aaron, 113. 
-^^ Asa, 113, 128. 

David, 113. 

Jonathan, 113, 128, 142. 
Kidder, John, 176. 
T EGATE, Robert, 113. 
*-^ Thomas, 116, 
Lincoln, Ephraim, 160. 

Otis, 173. 
Livermore, Abner, 168. 
Locke, John, 113. 
Low, John, 176. 
TV/TARBLE, Luther, 168, 
^^^ 193- 

Martin, Jonathan, 113. 
May, David, 163. 
Motterhead, Robert, 168, 
"lyriCHOLS, Daniel, 112. 
•'•^ Michael, 143, 193. 

William, 113. 
QAKS, Calvin, 168. 
^^ Osgood, Ebenezer, 112, 
128. 

Moses, 113. 
■pAGE, Levi, 193. 
■*• Thomas, 113, 166. 
Parker, Francis, 113, 129, 

163. 
Pattin, Richard, 193. 
Peirce, Joshua, 113, 129, 193. 
Perkins, Benjamin, 112. 
Perry, Silas, 168, 173. 

Simeon, 156, 166. 
Phelps, Edward, 112. 

Levi, 143, 173. 



Prentice, William, 129. 
Priest, Asa, 128, 144, 193. 

Job, 194. 
Proutee, Joshua, 113, 128, 

193- 
■O ICE, Phineas, 194. 
■^^ Richardson, Luke, 112, 

148. 
Robbins, Joseph, 142, 193. 

Thomas, 193. 
Rogers, Samuel, 193. 

Thomas, 128. 
CHARON, Silas, 193. 
"^ Simonds, Jacob, 159, 

172, 173- 

Zebedee, 113, 128, 159. 
Slack, Jesse, 112, 126. 

William, 126. 
Smith, Benjamin, 113. 

James, 194. 

Joseph, 113, 128. 

Silas, 142. 
Sollendine, Isaac, 193. 
Spofford. Jacob, 146, 163. 
Stearns, Benjamin, 113, 128, 
142, 173, 176. 

David, 193. 
Stevens, Benjamin, 156. 
Stewart, Benjamin, 143, 193. 

Ebenezer, 113. 

Joseph, 166, 173. 

Richard, 113. 
Stickney, Samuel, 112, 163. 
Stone, John, 113, 128, 143. 
Swan, Josiah, 163. 



Sweetzer, Joseph, 146. 

Philemon, 146. 

Philip, 112, 142. 
'pARBOX, Benjamin, 160. 

TJNDERWOOD, Jere- 
^ miah, 146. 
A^ARNER, Levi. 113,128, 
163. 

William, 113,128, 131,142, 
Whitcomb, Josiah, 113, 164, 
176, 194. 

John, 146. 
White, Elisha, 112, 164, 

Joshua, 113, 128, 193. 

Josiah, 112, 128, 156, 164. 

Samuel, 127. 
Whitman or Whitmore, Is- 
aac , 112, 128. 
Wilder, Abel, 158, 193, 

David, 113, 121, 122, 128. 

David, 164. 

James, 143. 

Joseph, 112. 

Thomas, 112, 156, 163. 
Wilson, David, 113. 

Luke, 128, 193. 
Winship, Ebenezer, 193. 
Woods, Caleb, 194. 

James, 113, 128, 164. 

John, 112, 126. 

Joshua, 112. 

Samuel, 194. 
Wyman, Israel, 113. 



IX. Soldiers in Shays' Insurrection serving for Lancastrian 

Towns. 



A GER, see Eager. 
■^~*- Adams, Ephraim, 256. 
Allen, Abel, 257. 
Atherton, James, 257. 

Peter, 257. 
T3AILEY, Benjamin, 256. 
-*-* Baker, Abel, 257. 

Joseph, 256. 
Ball, Nahum, 258. 
Ballard, John, 258. 

William, 258. 
Barnard, John, 257. 

Jonathan, 257, 

Josiah, 257. 
Barker, William, 256. 
Bartlett, Eliuda, 256. 
Beaman, Nathaniel, 252,255, 
256. 

Peter, 153, 256. 
Belknap, Cyrus, 157. 
Bigelow, Amasa, 256. 

William, 256, 257. 
Billings, John, 258. 
Boardman, William, 256. 
Boutell, John, 258, 

Timothy, 258. 

William, jr., 258. 
Bridge, William, 253, 256. 



Brigham, Timothy, 256. 
Britain, James, 257. 
Brooks, Ammi, 256. 
Brown, Bartholomew, 256. 

Jacob, 256. 

Thaddeus, 257. 

Timothy, 255, 256. 
Bryant, Richard, 257. 
Burbank, Samuel, 256. 
Burnham, Lemuel, 257. 
Burpee, Ebenezer, 256. 

Nathan, 257. 
Burrage, William, 258. 
Bush, Calvin, 257. 

Jonathan, 257. 
Buss, Silas, 256. 
Butler, John, 256. 
r^APEN, James, 252, 256. 
^ Carter, Daniel, 258. 

Ephraim, jr., 253. 

James, 258. 

Jonas, 257. 

Oliver, 257, 258. 

Oliver 3d, 257. 

Samuel, 257. 

Sanderson, 257. 

William, 257. 
Chace, Jeremiah, 258. 



Thomas, 258. 
Chapin, Coffin, 257. 
Chaplin, Joseph, 256. 
Cheever, Bartholomew, 256. 
Clark, Jonathan, 256. 
Cleverly, Stephen, 257. 
Conant, Simeon, 257. 
Coolidge, Moses, 257. 
Cook, Thomas, 256. 
Copeland, Eliphas, 256. 
Cowden, Daniel, 256. 
Curtis, James, 256. 
"pvARLING, Joseph, 258. 
^-^ De Putrin,\Villiam, 256. 
Divol, Josiah, 258. 
Dole, Dunsmoor, 256. 
"P AGER, Abraham, 256. 
■*-^ Fortunatus, 256. 

Haran, 257. 
Ellis, James, 257. 
Evans, Heman, 258. 
Eveleth, Joseph, 256. 

Joseph, jr., 256. 

Joshua, 255. 

Zimri, 256. 
pAIRBANK, Caleb, 257. 
-'- Cyrus, 253. 

Jabez, 258. 



394 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Manasseh, 255, 257. 
Farnsworth, Elias, 255. 
Fay, Ebenezer, 256. 
Fisher, Jacob, 253, 255. 
Flagg, Gershom, 253, 258. 
Flood, William, 256. 
Ford, John, 256. 
FuUain, Oliver, 256. 
(^ARFIELD, Daniel, 257. 
^^ Gibbs,William, 255,256. 
Gill, John, 255. 
Goddard, Eber, 257. 
Godfrey, Salmon, 255. 
Goldsmith, Timothy, 258. 
Goss, Gustavus, 257. 
Greenleaf, William, 252. 

William, jr., 253, 258. 
TTAGAR, Abijah, 256. 
■•^ Hamblin, Cyrus, 257. 

Eleazar, jr., 257. 

Europe, 257. 
Harrod, Noah, 258. 
Harwood, John, 256. 
Haskell, Andrew, 255. 

John, 256. 
Hastings, Abel, 257. 

Benjamin, 257. 

William, 257. 
Hasty, Joseph, 256. 
Haynes, Joseph, 257. 

Samuel, 256. 
Heard, Edmund, 258. 
Hemingway, Joshua, 257. 

Simeon, 257. 
Hills, lohn, 258. 
Hoar, Joseph, 256, 257. 
Hobart, William, 258. 
Hobbs, Elisha, 257. 
Holden, Benjamin, 255. 

Joseph, 255. 

Silvanus, 256. 
Hohnan, Charles, 257. 

Jonathan, 257. 
Houghton, Abiathar, 258. 

Eli, 256. 

James, 257. 

Jonathan, 257. 

Joseph, 257. 

Luther, 258. 

Nathaniel, 255. 

Silas, 257. 
How, Benjamin, 257. 

Samuel, 257. 
Hunt, James, 257. 

Peter, 258. 

Raymond, 256. 
T EPSON, William, 258. 
J Johnson, Jonas, 258. 
Jones, Jonas, 258. 

Martin Cox, 257. 

Silas, 257. 
Joslin, Joseph, 258. 

Levi, 258. 

Nathaniel, 258. 
■[/■ENDALL, Abel, 256. 
-'■^ Augustus, 256, 257. 

Nathaniel, 257. 

Pearson, 256. 



Reuben, 256. 

Samuel, 258. 
Kilburn, William, 257. 
Kimball, Joshua, 258. 
Kittell, Andrew, 257, 
Knight, Joseph, 258. 

Manasseh, 258. 
Knowlton, Asa, 256. 
T ANE, Jonas, 252, 254. 
■'— ' Leach, John, 258. 
Legate, Robert, 258. 

Thomas, 258. 

William, 258. 
Lincoln, Jesse, 258. 

Thomas, 258. 
Littlejohn, John, 256. 
Lock, John, 258. 
Longley, Eli, 257, 
Lyon, Seth, 256. 
]V/r A N N I N G, A r t e m a s , 
■'■'-'■ 256. 

Israel, 257. 
Mason, Paul, 256. 

Silas, 256. 
Maynard, Artemas, 256. 

Asa, 256. 

John, 257. 
McDunn, James Wade, 256. 
McGregore, Daniel, 258. 
McKenzey, Roderick, 256. 
Milliken, Benjamin, 258. 
Mitchell, Abner, 256. 
Mixer, Daniel, 256. 
Moore, Abel, 256. 

Ebenezer, 257. 

Isaac, 257. 

James, 256. 

Rufus, 257. 
Myrick, Ephraim, 257. 
"NTICHOLS, Levi, 258. 
■'-^ Nurse, David, 257. 

Stephen, 257. 
QSGOOD, Houghton,256. 

pAGE, Theophilus, 256. 
■*■ Palmer, William, 257. 
Parker, Caleb, 257. 
Peirce, Benjamin, 258. 
Petigrew, Andrew, 257^ 
Phelps, Abijah, 256. 

David, 256. 

Elisha, 253, 255. 

Josiah, 255. 

Levi, 258. 

Luther, 258. 
Pike, Ebenezer, 257. 
Pollard, Abner, 253, 256. 

Amos, 258, 255. 
Powers, Henry, 257. 
Pratt, Abijah, 257. 
Prentice, Cephas, 252, 258. 

James Otis, 252, 255. 
Prescott, John, 257. 

Jonathan, 258. 

Joseph, 257. 
Priest, Shadrack, 257. 



Putnam, Andrew, 258. 

William, 258. 
"P EAD, Jacob. 255. 
•'■^ Joseph, 256. 

Joshua, 255. 

Nathan, 255. 
Rice, Merrick, 253. 

Samuel, 256. 
Richards, Mitchell, 256. 
Richardson, Artemas, 255. 

John, 257. 

John, jr., 258. 

Phineas, 255, 256. 

Thomas, 253, 255. 
Robbins, Jacob, 254, 256. 
Ross, Reuben, 257. 

William, 257. 
Rugg, Asa, 256. 

Elisha, 257. 
Ruggles, Samuel, 158. 
CARGENT, Samuel, 258. 
*--' Sawyer, Manasseh, 256. 

Thomas, jr., 257. 

Thomas 3d, 257. 

Uri, 257. 

William, 257. 
Shed, John, 258. 
Smith, David, 252, 256. 

Richard, 256. 
Snow, Joseph, 258. 
Spofford, Job, 257. 
Sprague, John, 253, 254. 
Stearns, Eli, 252, 253, 257. 

Isaac, 256. 

Jonas, 256. 

Timothy, 258. 
Stewart, Benjamin, 258. 
•yEMPLE, Henry, 257. 
■'■ Thatcher, Moses, 257. 
Thayer, Israel, 258. 
Torry, Stephen, 256. 
Townsend, Levi, 257. 

Robert, 258. 
TTNDERWOOD, Israel, 
^ 256. 

■\XrALCOTT, Thomas, 
^V 256. 
Wales, Joseph, 253. 
Ward, Samuel, 257. 
Warner, Asa, 258. 

Levi, 258. 
Warren, Joel, 256. 

Phineas, 256. 

William, 258. 
Watson, John, 257. 
Welch, Jonas, 257. 

Thomas, 257. 
Wheelock, Abel, 253. 

Abijah, 253, 256. 

Jonathan, 258. 

Jonathan, jr., 253. 

Samuel, 253, 256. 
Whitcomb, Asa, 256, 257. 

David, 257. 

Ephraim, 256. 

John, 256. 

Jonathan, 257. 

Silas, 257. 



INDEX. 



395 



White, James, 253, 256. 

John, 258. 

Josiah, 256. 
Whiting, John, 252. 254, 257. 

Timothy, jr., 253, 254. 
Whitney, Andrew, 256. 

John, 258. 
Wilder, Elihu, 257. 

Joel, 256. 



John, 257, 
Joseph, 257. 
Josiah, 253. 
Joshua, 257. 
Levi, 257. 
Manasseh, 256. 
Phineas, 257. 
Peter, 258. 



Willard, Aaron, 254. 

Joseph, 257. 

Levi, 253. 
Wood, Abel, 256, 258, 

Stephen, 258. 
Woodbury, William, 257. 
Woolson, Lewis, 256. 
Wyman, Joseph, 256. 

Thomas, 257. 



X. Lancaster Soldiers, 1812-14. Pages 271-2. 



Blood, Reuben 
Brown, Abijah 

Artemas H. 

Edward 

Odel 
Churchill, Samuel 
Damon, Samuel 
Fisher, Ephraim Carter 
Goddard, Asa 
Gould, Nathaniel 
Haskell, Israel 
Hcwson, Robert 
Houghton, Henry 
Johnston, Josias 
Laughton, Hannibal 
Lynn, John 



Lynch, John 
Lyon, John 
McLalen, William 
Mallard, Abraham 
Maynard, Gardner 
Mepee, Samuel 
Moore, Henry 
Moses, Liberty B. 
Osgood, Apollus 

Jonathan 
Parker, Silas 
Phelps, George 

Thomas 
Puffer, Nathan 
Randall, Alvin 

Prosper 



Rice, Benjamin 
Rugg, Josiah 
Safford, Thomas 
Sawyer, Capt. Ezra 

Phineas 
Taylor, Ebenezer 

John 
Thayer, Nathaniel 
Walden, Ephraim 
Wheeler, Calvin 
Whiting, Henry 

Fabius 

Levi 
Wilder, Ebenezer 

Titus 



XI. Lancaster Soldiers in Civil War. 



A LBEE, John G., 322. 
•'^ Alexander, Nathaniel, 

309- 
Atchinson, William, 316. 
Atherton, Roswell, 317. 
Ayers, John Curtis, 291, 299, 

323. 
"OALCOM, Charles H., 
-»-* 309, 328, 333. 
Ball, Henry F., 326. 
Bancroft, Charles L., 332, 

333- 

Frank Carter, 331, 333. 
Barnes, George A., 291, 311., 

Frank W., 311, 330. 
Beard, Jonas H., 315, 333. 
Bell, John, 325. 
Bergtnann, Albert, 325. 
Blood, Charles E., 314, 318. 
Bigelow, William W., 313, 

315- 
Bowman, Henry, 309, 317, 
320,322. 
Samuel Mirick, 320, 322, 

324- 
Bradley, Jerome, 332. 
Bridge, James A., 318. 
Brooks, Walter A., 323. 
Brown, Jonas H., 318. 
Burbank, Lewis B., 318. 
Burditt, Charles F., 321. 

Thomas E., 312. 
Burke, James E., 291, 313. 
r^ARR, William D., 331, 

337- 
Chaffee, George E., 323. 
Chandler, Frank W., 323. 



Chaplin, Solon W., 318. 
Cleveland, Richard J., 332. 
Clinton, Joseph, 306, 
Cobb, William L., 289, 291, 

299, 318, 333, 338. 
Coburn, George B., 307, 318. 

Cyrus E., 307, 318. 
Copeland, Joseph, 330, 311. 
Coyle, John, 325. 
Cutler, Francis B., 331. 

George W., 291, 293, 309. 

Henry A., 323. 

Isaac N., 291, 309. 
"p\AILY, James, 318. 
^-^ Damon, Daniel M., 318. 
Davidson, Thomas H., 309. 
Davis, George W., 327. 
Day, Joseph N., 314, 319, 

328. 
Dillon, James, 319. 
Divoll, George W., 327, 337. 
Dupee, John, 306, 317. 
Dudley, John Edwin, 316. 
P LDEN, Henry IL, 329. 
-'-' Ellis, Warren, 291, 310, 

329- 
pAHAY, Bartholet, 308. 
•*■ Fairbanks, Francis H., 

291, 308, 319. 
Charles T., 330. 
Farnsworth, Franklin H., 

291. 309- 337- 
George W., 319. 
John A., 319. 
John E., 319. 
William H., 308. 
Field, Edwin F., 291, 313. 



Finnessy, James, 331. 
Fisher, William H., 323. 
Flagg, Albert, 324. 

Charles B., 291, 317, 
Fletcher, James T., 330, 
Fox, William L., 291, 313, 

333- 

Thomas, 327. 
Frary, Oscar, 323. 
Fuller, Andrew L., 293, 309. 

Henry H., 308. 

Echvard M., 318, 329, 333. 
Fury, Michael, 319. 
/^GODWIN, John, 325. 
^-^ Gould, John, 330. 
Gray, James M., 291, 309. 

Stephen W., 319. 
Green, Asa Whitman, 312, 
328. 

Daniel Webster, 312. 
Greene, Gilbert W., 291, 310. 
TT ARDY, George H., 291, 

313. 321, 324. 333- 
Harriman, Harris C, 323, 

338. 
Haynes, John C, 320. 
Hills, Thomas Augustus, 

307, 322. 
Ilodgman, Oren, 318. 
Horan, Fordyce, 309, 329. 
Hosley, Henry H., 292, 309, 

329- 
Hunting, Albert G., 311. 

Joseph W., 311. 

Thomas A. G., 319, 334. 
T ACKSON, David W.,323. 
J James, John, 292, 323, 338. 



39^ 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Johnson, Adelbert W., 310, 

322. 
Jones, David Wilder, 330. 
Joslyn, Edward R., 332. 
TT'ELLY, Martin, 331, 333. 
-•^ Kern, Johin, 328. 
Keyes, Stephen A., 307, 324. 

Sumner W., 307, 324. 
Kilburn, Sumner R., 310,333. 
Kingsbury, Joseph W., 292, 

309- 
Kittredge, Solomon, 310, 

328, 333- 
Krum, John, 316, 320. 

T ANGLEY, James, 325. 
■*-^ Lawrence, Sewell T.,314. 

Willard R., 293, 310. 
Leroy, Frank B., 324. 
]\/rcCARRON, William. 
^^^ 328. 

McKay, William S., 325. 
McQuillan, Charles E., 313, 

329. 333- 
McRell, Ephraim, 330. 

William, 330. 
Mahar, Dennis, 313. 
Mann, George C, 292, 310. 
Matthews, l3avid W., 314, 

319- 
George W., 314, 319, 338, 
Mayo, John, 306. 
Mellor, William H., 319, 328. 
Miller, Frank, 328. 
Moeglen, John Louis, 312, 

325. 
Monyer, John, 325. 
Moore, Joseph B., 323. 

Oliver W., 329. 
Moses, Robert R., 310. 
Murphy, William F., 316, 

330' 
■NJEU, Louis, 328. 
■'■^ Newman, James Ho- 
mer, 330, 333. 
Nourse, Adrian T., 307. 
Byron H., 323. 
Frank E., 307, 322. 



Fred Fordyce, 307, 338. 
Henry Stedman, i, 333. 
Roscoe H., 307, 323. 

O'BRIEN, Michael, 316. 
Ollis, John, 328. 

Luke, 292, 313, 329. 
Osgood, George F., 310. 
Otis, Edwin A., 322. 
pARKER, Henry Jack- 
■'■ son, 287, 307, 317. 

Leonard H., 321. 
Patrick, George Henry, 320, 

323, 324. 
Plaisted, Simon M., 322,327. 
Pierce, Edward, 316, 320. 

Frank E., 313, 329, 333. 

William D., 307, 313. 
Priest, Henry S., 327. 
Puffer, Charles, 315. 
Putney, Henry M., 321, 337, 
"D ICE, Walter C, 321, 337. 
•'^ Richards, Ebenezer ^V., 
292, 314. 338. 

George K., 291, 311, 329, 
333, 338. 
Robbins, William H., 313. 
Robinson, Charles A., 324. 
Ross, William, 325. 
Rugg, Daniel W., 313. 

Henry H., 292, 310, 321, 

324- 

James, 324. 
C AWTELL, Edwin, 323. 
•^ Sawyer, Frank O., 331. 

Nathaniel C, 331. 

Oliver B., 314, 321. 
Schumacher, William, 292, 

326. 
Sheary, Patrick, 314, 319. 
Shean, George C, 310. 
Sinclair, Charles H., 292,314. 
Smith, John, 316. 

William, 316. 

William No. 2, 327. 
Souveur, Charles L., 315. 
Sweet, Caleb Wood, 314, 
333- 



Sykes, Edwin, 324. 
'f'AYLOR, Henry T.. 309, 

338. 
Thompson, George, 322. 

William, 292, 311, 322. 
Thurston, George Lee, 333, 

338, 368. 
Tisdale, Charles E., 319. 
Toole, John, 327. 
Tracy, David H., 306. 
True, George H., 316. 

James G., 316, 337. 
Turner, Horatio E., 318, 338. 

Luther G., 293, 310. 

Walter S. H., 323. 
■yALDEZ, Joseph, 327. 
^ Veret, John, 326. 
AXT'ARNER, James G., 
* ^ 293, 310. 
Warren, Thomas Henry, 

331- 
Washburn, Edward Rich- 
mond, 4, 323, 337. 

Francis, 323, 324, 325, 326, 
333. 338, 368. 
Watson, George, 306. 
Weld, George D., 321, 338. 
Wheeler, Abner, 308. 
Whitney, Edmund C, 323. 
Whittemore, Woodbury, 

287, 288, 291, 314. 
Wilder, Charles H., 323, 338. 

John Prescott, 294, 327. 

Sanford B., 328. 
Wiley, Charles T., 330. 

George E., 314, 319. 
Wilkinson, Charles, 312. 
Willard, Edwin H., 310. 

Henry W., 318. 

Sidney, 320. 
Wise, John Patrick, 318. 
Worcester, Horace, 321,338. 
Wyman, Benjamin F., 306, 
yAHN, Peter, 306. 



XIL Persons, Miscellaneous. 



A BERCROMBIE, Gen. 
-^^ Tos., 17, 47. 53. 59. 63, 

64, 65, 71, 91. 
Adams, Henry O., 291. 

John, 198. 

Samuel, 90, 93, 340. 

Rev. Zabdiel, 62. 
Albert, Frederick, 155, 
Alden, Col. Ichabod, 181. 
Aldridge, Luke, 42. 
Alexander, Lt. Ebenezer, 18. 

Gen. William, 174. 
Allen, Aaron, 42. 

Daniel, 203, 205. 

David, 37. 

Ebenezer, 94, 95, 100, loi, 
152, 173. 185, 199, 219, 
228, 247. 



Elisha, 154. 
Ames, Fisher, quoted, 255. 

Rev. Marcus, 299. 
Amherst, Gen. Jeffrey, 63, 

71, 79, 82, 84, 91. 
Anderson, Miss Mary, 297, 

302. 
Andrews, David, 162. 
Anville, Duke de, 23. 
Apthorp, Mr., 53. 
Arbuthnot, Capt., 59. 
Arnold, Benedict, 126, 161. 
Ashley, John, 54. 

Capt. Moses, 151, 190. 
Atherton, Dr. Israel, 231, 
247. 

Galen P., 291. 
Atherton, a tory, 202. 



Austin, Abraham, 78. 

Lt. Benijah, 21. 
Avery, John, 234. 
"DAGLEY, Col. Jona., 56 
-D 64,65,69. 
Bailey, Edwin, 301. 

Col. John, 180. 

Capt. Wm., S3, 59, 77. 

Lt. Josiah, 87. 
Baker, Capt. Joseph, 232. 

Capt. Samuel, 88, 98, 102. 

Timothy, 42. 
Balch, Capt. Nathaniel, 170, 

186, 219, 220, 229. 230. 
Baldwin, Capt. Jeduthan, 34, 

38. 
Ball, Lt. Thomas, 27. 
Ballard, Josiah, 174, 185,186. 



INDEX. 



597 



Bancroft, Geo., quoted, 122. 
Bangs, Capt., 147. 
Banks, Commodore, 137. 
Barker, Thomas E,. 291. 
Barnard, Capt. Jeremiah, 
240. 

Jacob M., 291. 
Barnes, Abraham, 66. 

Capt. Daniel, 191. 
Barney, Daniel, 13. 
Barrack, William, 66. 
Barret, Capt. James, 151. 
Barron, Capt. Edward, 234. 

Ensign Isaac, 18. 

Dr. Reuben, 293. 

Thomas, 14. 

Capt. William, 82. 
Bartlet, Col. Wm. F., 324. 
Bartol, Rev. G. M., 336. 
Beaman, Nathaniel, 151,166, 
185, 211, 219, 252. 

Phineas, 152. 
Belknap, Ebenezer, 104. 

Jedediah, 37. 
Bell, Ensign John, 18, 22. 
Bemis, Capt. Edmond, 121. 
Bennett, Ephraim, 37. 

John, 126, 2S8. 

Silas, 37. 

Thomas, 65. 
Benway, Geoffrey, 50-52. 
Bigelow, Jabez, 66. 

John, 276. 

Joseph, 37. 

Col. Timothy, 135, 183. 
Billings, James, 13. 
Blackstone, Ens. Benja., 22. 
Blodgei, Zaccheus, 24. 
Blood, Zachary, 14. 
Bourn, Silvanus, 51. 
Bowdoii-., Gov. James, 252. 
Bowen, Capt. Ephraim, 184, 
Bowers, Willard A., 291. 
Bowker, Silas, 36, 
Bowles, Ens. Ralph, 139,140. 
Bowman, Jonathan, 76. 
Boyles, Charles, 56. 
Brabrook, Comfort, 37. 
Braddock, Gen. Edward, 17. 
Bradford, Col. Gamaliel,i82. 

William, 29. 
Bradish, Ebenezer, 173. 
Bradley, Capt. David, 185. 
Bradstreet, Ens. Dudley, 22. 

Lt.-Col. John. 71. 
Braman, Lawrence H., 291. 
Brewer, Capt. Eiisha, 191. 

Col. Jonathan, 132, 133. 

Miron H., 333. 

Col. Samuel, 146. 
Bridge, Lt. Ebenezer, 121. 
Brigham, Edmund, 42. 

Henry F., 291. 

Levi E., 291. 

Capt. Nathaniel, 82. 
Britt, Capt, 29, 
Brooks, Jabez, 220, 221. 

Lt.-Col. John, 181. 



Thomas, 220, 
Brown, Capt. Benjamin, 192. 

John, 66, 173, 186, 220. 

Jonathan, 13. 

Capt. Joshua, 184, 192. 

Col. Josiah, 34, 38. 

Thomas, 170, 185, 219. 
Bruce, Roger, 42. 
Bryant, Capt. John, 184. 
Bulkeley, Joseph, 15. 
Bullock, A. H., quoted, 374. 
Bunn, John, 42. 

Zachariah, 14. 
Burbank, Calvin W., 289, 

291, 295, 299. 
Burgess, Charles H., 291. 

George E., 291. 
Burgoyne, Gen. John, 156, 

176. 
Burr, Col., 20. 
Buss, Ens. John, 87. 

Dea. Ebenezer, 186. 
Butler, Capt. Joseph, 129. 
Butterfield, Lt. Benja., 88. 

Capt. Jonathan, 81. 
Buttrick, Jonathan, 305. 
Byrnes, Col. Richard, 315. 
r^^SAR, slave, 236. 
'^ Campbell, Lt.-Col. Arch- 
ibald, 233. 

Lt. Duncan, 233. 

Capt. Lawrence R„ 233. 
Carey, James, 13. 
Carnes, Burrill, 262. 
Carter, Ephraim, 100, 173, 
1S6, 214, 222, 223, 246, 
249. 

James, 203, 205. 

James G., 281. 

John. 51. 

Joseph, 222. 

Oliver W,, 333. 
CartwTight, Richard, refu- 
gee, 228. 

Col. Richard W., 315. 
Ceary, Michael, 127. 
Censer, Victor, 291. 
Chace, William, 148. 
Chamberlain, Josiah, 42. 
Chandler, Clark, tory, 234-6. 

George F., 294, 299. 

Col. John, 33, 75, 234. 

Joseph, 42, 

Mary G., 294. 

Lt. Samuel, 18. 

Lt.-Col.Thomas, 18, 20,21. 
Chastellux, Marquis de, 

quoted, 190, 235. 
Chesnutt, William, 42. 
Child, Moses, 130. 
Childe, Dr. Robert, 340, 347. 
Childs, James, 299, 305. 
Choate, Col. John, 55. 
Chubb, William, 13. 
Church, Isaac, 238. 
Cilley, Col. Joseph, 185. 
Clarke, Thomas, 52. 
Cleavcland, Rev.John, diary 



of, 64, 70. 
Cleaveland, Cajn. R. J., 263, 
264, 277, 2S0, 283, 284. 

Mrs. Dorcas H., 277, 280, 
281. 
Clinton, Sir Henry, 155, 160. 
Cobb, Capt, Thomas, 77, 
Cochrane, Admiral, 163. 

Lt. William, 104. 
Coftin, Joseph, 43, 
Cogney, Thomas, 127. 
Cogswell, Col. William, 306. 
Cohen, William, 291. 
Colburn, Warren, 281. 

G. C, 299. 
Collin, Joseph, 43. 
Coleworthy, Gilbert, 127. 
Coiquhon, Lt. Lewis, 233. 
Colton, Capt. Charles, 180, 

192. 
Converse, Col. James, 147. 
Cook, Capt. David, 185. 
Cooledge, Charles, 337. 
Couch, Col. D. N., 308. 
Crafts, Col. Ebenezer, 258. 

Capt. Nathaniel, 185. 

Col. Thomas, 156, 185, 
193- 
Craig, Lt.-Col. Thomas, 139, 

140. 
Crane, Col. John, 184, 191, 

193- 
Cranson, Capt. Abner, 65, 

121, 134. 
Crawford, Rev. William, 76. 
Cullen, SurgeonWalter, 234. 
Cummings, George, 297,299. 

Lt.-Col. John, 34. 

Jonathan, 126. 
Cashing, Col. Job, 129, 162. 
Cutting, Eliphalet, 37. 

Henry C, 333. 
T~)AMON. |. Marsh?.ll,288. 
■*-^ Danforth, Capt. Jona- 
than, 139. 
Daniels, Capt, Japheth, 180. 
Davis, Capt., tarred and 
feathered, 196. 

Samuel, 43. 

Warren, 305. 
Day, Peter, 43. 

Sevvell, 299, 305. 

Steven, 347. 

William, 14. 
Dearborn, Gen. Henry, 265. 
Decatur, Comodore Steph., 

jr., 282, 
Denny, J. Waldo, 315. 

Col. Samuel, 169. 
Devens, Col. Charles, jr., 

290, 308. 
Dewey, Capt., 145. 
Dexter, Samuel, 247. 
Dickinson, Daniel W., 291. 

John W., 291. 
Dieskau, Ludwig A.Von, 36. 
Dike, Col. Nicholas, 88, 130. 
146. 



398 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Divoll, Manasseh, 214. 
Dizer, Francis, 127. 
Dodge, George, 288, 289, 
294. 

George E. P., 312, 333. 
Dolbee, Benjamin, 127. 
Dole, Amos, 125. 

Enoch, epitaph of, 136. 
Donnel, Col., 21, 

Capt. Nathaniel, 185. 
Doolittle, Col. Ephraim, 129, 
Douglas, Asa, 13. 

Dr. William, quoted, 12. 
Draper, Mr., 53. 
Drury, Capt. John, 164. 
Dudley, Mrs.joseph H., 294. 

Gen. N. A. M., 316. 
Dunsmoor, Dr. William, 94, 
95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102, 
103, 151, 152, 153, 186, 
213, 219, 220, 232, 236. 

Henry, 14. 

EAGER, Capt. Fortunatus 
186. 

Zachariah, 36. 
Eaton, Gen. Wm., quoted, 

265. 
Edwards, Lt.-Col, 271. 
Elliott, Capt. Joseph, 160. 
Ellis, Edward B., 291. 

Capt. Paul, 184. 
Emerson, Geo. B., 280, 281. 
English, John, 125. 
Estaing, Charles Hector 

compte de, 157. 
Etheredge, Thomas, 127. 
Eveleth, Joseph, 36, 66. 
Eveonden, Abijah, 127. 
pAIRBANK, Cyrus, 152, 
■'■ 166, 167, 170, 185, 199, 
213, 219, 228, 247, 249. 

Ephraim, 98. 

Jabez, 152, 154, 179, 186, 
219. 

Jonathan, 100, 155. 

Joshua, 51. 

Dea. Thomas, 100, 155. 
Fairfield, Capt.Matthew,i82. 
Farnsworth, Benjamin, 334. 
Farwell, Levi W., 299, 305. 
Farrar, Mary, petition of, 39. 
Fay, Francis Ball, 287, 289, 

290, 293, 297, 299, 
Fellows, Gen. John, 143, 
Felt, Jedediah, 127. 
Fisher, Maj. Jacob, 267, 270, 
276. 

Jacob, 287. 

Capt. Nathan, 158. 
Fitch, John, 24, 43. 
Fitzgerald, John, 13. 
Flagg, Gershom, 186. 

Josiah, 227, 228, 267, 269. 

William, 227. 
Fletcher, Joshua, 152, 154, 

174, 187, 214, 219. 
Fling, David, 43. 
Flint, Lt. James, 233. 



Flood, Benjamin, 37. 
Flowers, Capt. Samuel, 180. 
Forbes, Gen. John, 64, 78. 
ForrS, Theal, 50. 
Foss, George A., 338. 
Foster, David, I2i. 

Ezekiel, 121. 

Joseph, 43. 

Nathaniel, 42. 

Obediah, 12. 

Samuel, 43, 180. 
Foye, John, 54. 
Francis, Col. Ebenezer, 182. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 227,228, 

237- 
French, Nathan, 29. 
Frost, John, 29. 
Frothingham, Capt. Benj., 
184, 185, 193. 

Richard, jr., quoted, 120, 
122. 
Frye, Gen. James, 18, 21, 
119. 

Lt. John, 21. 

Col. Joseph, 59. 
Fuller, Capt. Andrew, 56. 

Capt. John, 121. 
Furnas, Col. William, 160. 
C^ AGE, Gov. Thomas, 102, 
^-^ 103, 196, 198. 
Gager, Jeremiah, 116, 120, 

121. 
Galbreth, Matthew, 13. 
Gardner, Capt. Benj., 193. 

Daniel, 234. 

Henry, 99, 178. 
Gates, Capt. Hezekiah, 55, 
56, 96, 97, 99, 100, lOI, 
102, 236. 

Gen. Horatio, 161, 163. 

Lt. Josiah, 128. 

Micah, 36. 

Samuel, 43. 

Capt. Thomas, 154, 170, 
173, 186, 220, 223. 

Capt. William, 183. 
Gay, Lt. Jotham, 53. 
Gerrish, Enoch, tory, 204. 

Moses, tory, 203, 204. 
Gilbert, Capt. Samuel, 129, 

232. 
Gill, Capt. John, 193. 
Glazier, Benjamin, 125. 
Godfrey, Maj. Richard, 76. 
Goffe, Capt. Daniel, 11. 

Ebenezer, 127. 
Goodale, David, 126. 

Capt. Jonathan, 37, 180. 

Joseph, 66. 
Goodenough, Levi, 43. 
Goodhue, Mrs. Anna, 197. 
Goodman, David, 65. 
Goodridge, Capt. Benj., 87. 

Daniel, 237. 

Lt. David, 87. 
Goodwin, Isaac, 244. 

Luxford, 43. 
Gore, Peter, 43. 



Gorham, Col. Shubael, 21. 
Goss, Capt. Daniel, 249. 

Jonas, 299. 

Rev. Thomas, 205. 
Gould, Benjamin A., 270. 

Charles E., 291. 

Nehemiah, 43. 
Goulding, Lt. Palmer, i8. 
Gourden, John. 66. 
Grant, Gen. U. S., letter of, 

373- 
Graves, Peter, 56. 
Greaton, Col. John, 178. 
Green, Peter, 236. 
Greene, Gen. Nathaniel, 123, 

124, 132, 157. 
Greenleaf, Col. William, 151, 

154, 211, 219, 229, 239, 

252, 254. 
Gregory, Gen., 242. 
Gridley, Col. Richard, 58, 

129. 
Grout, Peter, 14. 
Guild, Capt. Aaron, 142. 

HAGER, Abraham, 126. 
Hale, Col. Robert, 17, 
21. 
Timothy, 65. 
Hallet, Lt.-Col. Enoch, 160. 
Hamant, Capt. Timothy, 81. 
Hamilton, Alexander, 255. 
Hancock, Gov. John, 156, 
187, 229. 
Capt. Belcher, 190. 
Harmer, Capt. George, 56. 
Harrington, Abel, 148. 
Rev. Timothy, 203-208, 
214, 231, 346. 
Harris, Job, 65. 
Josiah, 333. 
Stephen, 125. 
Thaddeus M., 228. 
Thomas, 126, 127. 
William, 228. 
Harthan, Micah, 173, 223. 
Hartwell, Capt. Ephraim, 
177. 
Capt. John, 147. 
Ens. Joseph, 58, 87, 234. 
Capt. Thomas, 57. 
Harvey, Dr., 38, 40. 

John, 37. 
Haskell, Andrew, death of, 

259- 

Jeremiah, 174, 246. < 

Hastings, John, 126. 

Thomas, 292. 
Haven, Charles R., 292, 
Haviland, Col. William, 83. 
Haywood, Capt. Benj., 180. 

Capt. Ephraim, 22. , 

Jonathan, 12. 

Seth, 104. 
Heard, Mark, 104. 
Heath, Gen. Wm., quoted, 

105, 118, 136. 
Henley, Col. David, 182,184. 
Henry, Patrick, 92. 



INDEX. 



399 



Herschel, William, 200. 

Hide, Joshua, 37. 

Hill, Capt. Jeremiah, 190. 

Thomas, 126. 
Hiller, Maj. Joseph, 261,262, 

263, 269. 
Hinds, Jacob. 37. 
Hinks, Col. Edw. W., 311. 
Hoar, Lt. John, 121. 
Hodges, Maj., 22. 

Dr. Silas, 204. 
Hodgkins, Capt.Joseph, 183. 
Holden, Joseph, 127. 
Holder, Quaker shoemaker, 

276-7. 
Holman, Calvin, 299. 

Lt. Jonathan, 102. 

Nathaniel, 215. 

Silas H., 291. 

Stephen, 220. 
Holowell, Edward, 127. 
Holt, Josiah, 13. 

Uriah, 126. 
Hosmer, E. Warren, 316, 

330. 333- 
Capt. Stephen, 35. 
Houghton, Albert C, 292. 
Asa, 279. 
Capt. Benj., 155, 173, 186, 

206, 221, 247. 
Emory H., 292, 
Ezra, tory, 103, 203, 204. 
Joel, 173, 185, 219. 
Joshua, 224. 
Nahnm, 201, 202. 
Nathaniel, 170, 186, 222. 
Simon, 215. 
Solomon, tory, 199, 203, 

204. 
House, Joseph, tory, 200. 
Howe, Eli E., 295, 333. 
Lord Geo. Augustus, 63, 

64. 
George W., 288, 295, 296, 

293. 300. 305- 

Nehemiah, 43. 

Samuel, 43. 

Silas, 186. 

Capt. William, 185. 

Sir William, 124. 
Hovey, Josiah, 148. 

Thomas, 126. 
Hubbard, Jonathan, 18, 21, 
22. 

T., speaker, 52. 
Hudson, Enos, 43. 

Ezekiel, 65. 
Hull, Ezekiel, 235. 
Humphrey, H. D., 294, 333. 

Mrs. Jane, 302. 

Miss Mary T., 294. 
Hunt, Capt. Samuel, 35. 

Capt. Thomas, 191. 
Hunting, Stephen H., 291. 
Huston, Capt. John, 18, 21. 
Hussein, Pasha, 283. 
Hutchins, Andrew, 43. 

Eliakim, 43. 



TNGERSON, W. W., 292. 
-'■ Ingoldsby, Ebenezer, 37. 

John, 65. 
TACKSON, Capt. Elisha, 
J 158. 

Col. Henry, 184. 

Dr. James, 280. 

Jonathan, 13. 

Col. Michael, 181. 

Capt. Thomas, 185. 
Jacobs, Col. John, 159. 
Jefferies, James, 15. 
JeiTerson, Pres. Thomas, 

petition to, 261. 
Jennings, Joseph, 24. 

Capt. Isaac A., 308. 
Jewett, Gen., 242. 

Solomon, 151, 166, 167, 
211, 223. 
Johnson, George A., 295. 

Jotham, 148. 

Thomas, 13. 

Lt. Timothy, 18. 

Gen. William, 34, 79. 

William E., 292. 
Jones, Col. Edward F., 307. 

Henry, 14. 

Capt. John, 53, 129. 

Samuel, 104. 
Joslin, Col. George C, 308. 

Samuel, 236. 
]7-ENDALL, Heman, 186. 
■'^ James, 170, 186. 

Josiah, 94, 95, 100, 152, 
166, 170, 173, 185, 219, 
220, 221. 

Stephen, 13. 

William, 127. 
Kennedy, James, 292. 
Keye.s, Eli, 65. 

Henry, 36. 

Reuben, 37. 
Kilburn, Joseph, 219. 
Kilham, Samuel, 43. 
Kimball, Lt. Geo., 87, 247. 

Henry C, 2S7, 288, 289. 

Col. John W., 320, 322. 
King, Ens. David, 18. 

Reuben, 18. 

Samuel, 13. 

Capt. Samuel, 181, 191, 
192. 

Thomas, 344, 346. 
Kirkland, John T., 280. 
Knight, Abigail J., 304. 

Timothy, 246. 
Knox, Gen. Henry, 184. 
Kurtz, Col. John, 314. 
T AFAYETTE, Marquis 
^ de, 157, 241-4. 
Lamb, Capt., 147. 
Lampson, Ebenezer, 13. 
Lancaster, Joseph, 281. 
Lane, Anthony, 288. 

Jonas, 267, 269. 
Langdon, Capt., 191. 
Larkin, Peter, 220. 
Laughton, Thomas, 299. 



Lawrence, Rev. Amos E.' 

295- 

Gov. Charles, 41. 

Major, 23. 
Learned, Capt. Simon, 180, 

191. 
Leach, James, 43. 
Lee, Capt. Benjamin, 262. 

Gen. Charles, 123. 

Col. William R., 312. 
Legate, Thomas, 98. 
Leighton, Mrs. Emily, 294. 
Levasseur, M., 242. 
Lincoln, Abraham, death of, 
336. 

Gen. Benjamin, 118, 162, 

254- 

Levi, 229. 

Capt. Rufus, 181. 

William, quoted, 200. 

Col. William S., 317. 
Livermore, Samuel, 54. 
Longley, Joseph, 66. 

William, 66. 

Zachariah, 65. 
Loudoun, Earl, 17, 53, 59, 

63. 91. 
Lovel, Gen. Ebenezer, 257. 
Lowell, Col. Charles R„ 325. 
Lunt, Capt. Ezra, 1S2, 184. 

Paul, his diary, quoted, 
123. 
Lyman, Gen. Phineas, 36. 

Ens. William, 18. 
]\/r CCLELLAN, David, 
^^■^ 43- 

McKown, Mrs. Mary, 195. 
McLean, Lt. Archie, 233. 
Macy, Col. George N., 312. 
Maggi, Col. Albert C, 317. 
Mann, Horace, 281. 

Ens. John, 18. 
Manning, Dr. Samuel, 270. 
Marble, Abner, t)6. 
Marshall, Col. Thomas, 141, 

142, iSi. 
Martin, Samuel, 43. 
Mason, Lt.-Col. David, 184. 
Maynard, Charles H., 292. 
Maxwell, Capt. Hugh, r8o. 
Melanson, Benoni, "50-52. 
Mellen, Rev. John, quoted, 

84, 85, 90. 
Melvin, Benjamin, 13. 

Capt. David, 18. 

Capt. Eleazar, 18, 32. 
Merrick, Spencer R., 294, 

305- 
Meshcrvey, Col., 20. 
Miles, Solomon P., 281. 
Miller, Capt. Jacob, 129. 

Capt. Jeremiah, 190. 

Chaplain John, 80. 

Capt. Joseph, 18, 22. 

Lt.-Col. Stephen, 76. 
Mirick, Capt. James, 176. 
Monckton, Col. Robert, 46, 
48. 



400 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Monroe, Capt. Edmund, 
184, 191. 

Nathaniel, 13. 
Montcalm, Marquis de, 59, 

60, 64. 
Monteith, Col. Wm., 315. 
Montgomery, Gen. Richard, 
78, 126. 

James, 292, 338, 
Moody, Daniel, 43. 
Moore, David, 228. 

Israel, loo, 170, 185. 

Jeremiah, 305, 

Joseph, 97, 200, 203, 205. 

Josiah, 236. 

Capt. Joseph, 129. 

Levi, 100, 150, 170, 172, 
186, 221. 

Lyman, 293. 

Oliver, 94, 99. 
Morgan, Gen. Daniel, 161. 
Morse, Col. Augustus, 312, 

Rev. Ebenezer, 205. 

Uriah, 43. 
Morton, Perez, 235. 
Moulton, Col. Jeremiah, 17, 

21. 
Murray, Col., 54. 
Muzzy, Seth, 128. 
•NTEAGUS, Samuel, 43. 
■'■^ Nelson, Capt., 55. 
Nevers, Richard, 14. 
Newell, Col., 256. 
Nevvhall, Michael, 247. 
Newton, Edward, 166, 186. 
Newman, Gowen B., 276. 

John, 228. 
Nicholas, Rolla, 292. 
Nichols, Israel, 98. 
Nixon, Col. John, 129. 

John, 13. 

Col. Thomas, 180, 253. 
Norcross, Isaac, 148. 

Jabez, 43. 

Jacob, 148. 

John, 13. 

Nathaniel, 347. 
Nourse, Capt. David, 148, 
162, 175, 215. 

Henry J., 292. 

Jonathan P., 334. 

Oliver L., 292. 

Stedman, 305. 
r)AKS, Capt., 185. 
^-^ Oliver, Sergt. Andrew, 
52. 

Mathusala, 13. 

Judge Peter, loi, 197, 199. 
Olmstead, Capt, Jabez, 18, 

22. 
Osburn, John, 54. 
Osgood, Capt. IDavid, 100, 
186, 213, 219, 221, 222, 
223, 228, 236. 

Capt. Phineas, 32. 
Otis, Benjamin B., 299. 

James, 90, 92, 340. 



pAGE, John, 13. 
^ Capt. Peter, 182, 191. 
Palfrey, Col. Francis W.,312. 
Parks, Capt. William, 181. 
Parker, John, 13. 

John, jr., 13. 

Joshua, 13. 

Sir Peter, 155. 

Capt. Phineas, 185. 
Parmenter, Luther, 148. 
Partridge, Col. Oliver, 68. 
Patch, Ebenezer, 36. 

Capt. Samuel, 36, 129. 
Patten, Capt. Thomas, 185. 
Patterson, Joseph, 43. 

Col., 151. 
Payson, St. John, 18. 

Ens. Nathaniel, 18. 
Peabody, Capt. Francis, 78, 
Pepperrell, Sir Wm., 17, 20. 
Perkins, Moses, 29. 
Pestalozzi, 281. 
Pettingill, Nathaniel, 21. 
Phelps, Barney S., 299. 

Joel, 99. 
Phillips, Chaplain, 45. 

Ebenezer, 43. 

Major, 48. 

Capt. Thomas, 11. 
Phips, Sir William, 10, 52. 
Pierce, Capt. Joseph, 183. 

Capt. William, 36. 
Pierson, Col. George H., 

306, 307. 
Pike, Jonathan, 14. 
Pitt, William, 47, 63, 71, 79. 
Pitts, Lf.-Col., 22. 
Plant, Samuel, 282. 
Poignand, David, 282. 
Pollard, Christopher A., 287, 
289, 291, 296, 305. 

John, 104. 

Oliver, 228. 

Thaddeus, 104. 
Pomeroy, Gen. Seth, 18, 21, 

118, 120. 
Poole, Lt. Jacob, 121. 

Thomas, 12. 
Popkin, Capt, John, 129. 
Porter, William, 36. 
Pownall, Gov. Thomas, 74. 
Pratt, Lt. Edward, 22. 

Capt. Elias, 177. 

Nelson, 292. 
Pray, Capt. John, 182, 192, 

193- 
Preble, Gen. Jedediah, 117, 

118. 
Prentice, Mrs. Anna, 195. 

Rev. John, 231. 
Prescott, James, 204. 
John ist, 9, 339-366. 
Capt. John, 94, 95, 97, 100, 

102, 155, 170, 201, 220. 
Capt. John of Concord, 

II, 12, 15. 
Jonas, 357. 



Col. William, 129, 130, 
195, 196. 
Prince, Rev. Thomas, quot- 
ed, 19. 
Putnam, Rev. George, 298. 
Col, Rufus, 80, 180. 
Capt. William, 154, 219, 
220. 
Putney, Joseph, 127, 

QUANAPAUG, 360, 
Queen, Thomas, 13. 
Quinn, John, 292. 
Quincy, Edmund, quoted, 

199, 229. 
"DAND, Col. A. A„ 326, 

■"-^ 374- 

James, 127. 

Maj. John, 117. 
Ray, Amos, 62, 66. 
Rea, Caleb, diary of, 64, 70. 
Reid, Thomas W., 292. 
Redding, Capt. Zebedee, 

182, 191. 
Redington, Benjamin, 234. 
Reed, Capt. James, 57, 67, 
75, 76, 81, 87. 

Col. Joseph, 167, 186, 219, 
220, 221. 

Gen. Theodore, 37X-3. 
Revere, Col. Paul J., 312. 
Rice, Silas, 223. 
Richardson, Capt. Benj., 
170, 186, 220. 

James, 170, 1S6. 

Rev. Merrill, 298, 299,301, 

Sewall, 240. 

William, 32, 51, 53, 54, 55. 
Richmond, Col. Sylvester, 

17. 21. 
Rigbee, Timothy, 13, 
Rimer, Henry, 127. 
Robbins, Capt. Daniel, 94, 
95, 96, 100, 152, 213, 219, 
Robinson, Asa, 125. 

Capt. Ebenezer, 233. 
Rogers, Elizabeth, 198. 
Rolfe, Capt. Jonathan, 82. 
Roper, Ephraim, 13, 155. 
Ross, Thomas, 204. 
Rugg, Daniel, 166, 223, 246. 

Samuel, 299. 
Ruggles, Col. Timothy, 36, 
39. 40, 57. 67. 75. 81, 83. 
Rupp, John Adam, 127, 
Russell, Miss Elizabeth P,, 
297, 302. 

Nathaniel, 239. 

John, 44. 

Prof. William, 336. 
Ryan, James, 292. 

S AFFORD, Charles, 305. 
St. Clair, Gen. Arthur. 

259- 
Saltonstall, Col. Richard, 86. 
Sargent, Capt. Joseph, 156. 

Col. Paul D., 137. 
Savage, William H., 292. 
Sawyer, Aaron, 94, 95, 97, 



INDEX. 



401 



99, 100, 186, 2ig. 
Bezaleel, 31. 

Ephraim, 97, 99, 100, 152. 
Joseph H., 291. 
Moses, 249. 
Capt. Nathaniel, 186. 
Capt. Samuel, 104, 185, 

211. 
Thomas, 173. 
Schouler, William, quoted, 

334- 
Schuyler, Gen. Philip, 146, 

161. 
Scott, Lt.-Col. John, 42. 

John, 37. 

Capt. William, 185. 
Sever, Joseph, 186. 
Shaler, William, 283. 
Shanley, Patrick, 292. 
Shays, Capt. Daniel, 253, 

284. 
Sheldon, Benjamin, 18. 

Col. Elisha, 185. 
Shepard, Col. William, 180. 
Sherbrook, Sir John, 270. 
Sheridan, Gen. Philip, 315. 
Sherman, Gen. Wm. T., 317, 

336. 
Sherwin, Lt.-Col. Thomas, 

290, 291. 
Shezzerel, Anthony, 127. 
Shirley, Gov. William, 16, 
17, 22, 46, 52, 53, 118. 

Warren W., 23. 
Simmons, John, 44. 

|oseph, 126. 

William, 66. 
Smith, Lt.-Col. Calvin, 182. 

Capt. Ebenezer, 191. 

Capt. Elijah, 77. 

Francis E., 292. 

Jacob, 66. 

[ared, 121. 

Jeremiah, 14. 

Col. Jonathan, 143. 

Capt. Josiah, 182. 

Manchester, 214. 

Moses, 173, 247, 262, 267, 
269. 

Nathan, 66. 
Sparhavvk, Col. Nathan, 176. 
Sparks, Jarcd, 2S0, 281. 
Spear, Andrew, 44. 

Robert, 44. 
Spencer, Gen. Joseph, 156. 

Jonas H., 292. 

William N., 338. 
Sprague, John, 179, 231, 235, 
247, 249. 

Lt.-Col. A. B.R., 321,328. 
Sproat, Lt.-Col. Ebenezer, 

182. 
Stanley, John B., 292. 
Stark, Gen. John, 64, 69. 
Stearns, Col. Abijah, 156, 
163, 176. 

Eli, 253, 267, 269, 277. 

Col. Ephraim, 164, 253, 



254, 2SS, 257, 258. 

Lt. John, 18. 

Capt. Josiah, 129, 234. 

Mrs. Mary, 102. 

Samuel. 200. 

William, 234. 
Stebbins, Rev. Milo, 295, 

297, 299. 
Steele, Capt., 182. 
Stedman, William, 261, 264. 
Stetson, Capt. Isaiah, 182. 

Capt. Joseph, 147. 
Stevens, Charles G., 338. 

Christopher, 13. 

Joseph C, 338. 

Henry, 29. 

Capt. James, 18, 21. 

Lieutenant, 69. 

Nehemiah, 13. 

Capt. Phineas, 28, 45. 

Maj. William, 12, 258. 
Stewart, Stuart, Capt. Geo., 
II. 

John, 13. 
Stone, Daniel, 37. 

David, 44. 

Jonathan, 127. 

Nathan, 42. 

William, 292. 
Storer, Col, 21. 
Stowe, Henry, 333. 

Nathan, 13. 
Stowell, Hezekiah, 44. 

Gov. Caleb, 270. 
Stratton, G. Lyman, 291. 

George, 297. 
Strong, Elisha, 21. 
Sullivan, Gen. John, 157. 
Sumner, Capt. Job, 180, 192. 
Sumpter, Gen. Thomas, 241. 
Surdody, Indian, 24. 
Sweetser, Jacob, 269. 
Sykes, Capt. Richard, Si. 
Symmes, Caleb T., 295. 
Synionds, Henry, 344, 346. 
'pAILLE, Jonathan, 66. 
-^ Tappan, John, 76. 
Tarbell, Zachariah, 44. 
Taylor, Aaron, 42. 

Asa, 66. 

Fortunatus, 37. 

John, 44, 234. 
Temple, Lt. Francis, 37, 65. 
Thacher, James, quoted, 135, 

140, 145. 
Thayer, Miss Mary Ann,297. 

MathanicI, 297. 

Rev. Nathaniel, 242, 269, 
279-80. 
Thomas, Gen. John, 118,119, 

I3S- 
Joshua, 238. 
Thompson, Dr. J. L. S., 287, 
288, 294, 295, 296, 297, 
301, 305. 
Thorp, Capt. Eliphalet, 181. 
Thurston, John Gates, 368. 
John, 262. 



Peter, 223. 

Samuel, 100, 154, 170, 185, 
199, 213, 220, 221, 228. 

Silas, 305. 
Toogood, Capt. Wm., 180. 
Topham, Capt., 147. 
Townsend, surgeon, 139. 
Train, John, 13. 
Trask, John. 148. 
Treadway, Benjamin, 125. 
Treat, George, 127. 
Trescot, Lemuel, 139. 
Trumbull, Ens. jona., 18. 
Tucker, William, 166. 

Nathaniel, 126. 
Tupper, Lt.-Col. Benj., 182. 
Turner, John, 44. 

Joseph, 44. 

Capt. Thomas, 184, 191. 
Tyler, Col. Nathan, 32. 
T T N D E RWO O D , Col. 
^ Adin B., 317. 
Upton, Col. Edward, 315. 
l/ARNUM, Capt. James, 
^ 181. 

Vandreuil, Marquis de, 84. 
Vernon, Vice Admiral Ed- 
ward, II. 
\X7-ADE, Col. Nathaniel, 

158. 
Waite, Robert, 12. 
Walcott, Alfred F., 290. 

Gen. Charles F., 313. 
Waldo, Daniel, 229. 

Gen. Samuel, 17, 21, 22. 
Wales, Joseph, 267. 
Ward, Gen. Artemas, 117, 
118, 120. 

Col. George H., 308. 

Col. Jonathan, 129. 

Joseph, 148. 

Capt. Samuel of R. I., 126, 
147. 

Capt. Samuel ol L., 97, 
100, 102, 103, 170, 171, 
1S6, 214, 228, 234, 235, 
247, 249, 251, 261, 262, 

367- 
Ware, Mrs. Mary G., 302. 
Warner, Capt. William, 142, 

181, 193. 
Warren, Eliphalet, 44. 
General Joseph, 118,230. 
Sir Peter, 20, 23. 
Thomas B., 293. 
Washburn, Mrs.Harriet W., 
297, 302, 373. 
John M., 288, 305. 
John D., 373. 
Washington, quoted, 120, 

133. 168. 
Watrous, Capt. Abraham, 

190. 
Webb, Capt. George, 180, 

193- 
Webster, Daniel, quoted,90. 
Wells, Capt. Agrippa, 121. 
Dcmas, 13. 



402 



ANNALS OF LANCASTER. 



Col. George D., 317. 

Capt. Thomas, 185, 191. 
West, Ens. Benjamin, 121. 
Wetherby, Jonathan, 44. 
Whalen, John, 292. 
Wheeler, Capt. Adam, 129, 
180, 192. 

Rev. Joseph, 98, 102. 

Richard, 13. 
Whetcomb, Col. Asa, 95, 98, 
99, 132-141, 154-155. 
203. 

Gen. John, 118-120, 234. 
Whipple, Capt. Job, 55, 180, 

191, 192, 193. 
White, Elisha, 99, 155, 166, 
220. 

Capt. Haffield, 193. 

Capt. John, 173, 186. 

Jonathan, 104. 

Joseph, 94, 95. 

Nathaniel, 167, 221. 
Whitefield, Rev. George, 19. 
Whiting, Maj. Daniel, 139. 

Maj. Fabius, 4, 272. 

Gen. Henry, 4, 272. 

Gen. John, 4, 264-5, 272. 

Rev. John, 10, 

Solon, 288, 293, 305. 

Capt. Timothy, jr., 186, 
246, 247, 249, 264, 272. 
Whitman, Dr. Charles, 150. 
Whitney, Rev. Andrew, 205. 

Caleb, 154, 173. 

John, 66, 215. 

Jonathan, 253, 274. 

Col. Josiah, 259. 

Miss Mary, 253, 297. 
Wigglesworth, Col. Edward, 
182. 



Wilde, Barnard, 44. 

Silent, 238. 
Wilder, Caleb, 200, 211, 263. 

Charles L., 288, 297, 299, 

333. 
Charles J., 297, 299, 305. 
Dea. David, 97, 100, 102, 

152. ,^ 

Capt. David, 129. 
Ephraim, 151, 185, 211, 

220. 
Maj. Gardner, 186. 
James, 236. 
Jonas, jr., 170. 
Jbnathan, 100, 152, 154, 

220, 249, 262, 267, 269. 
Judge Joseph, 30, 31. 
Col. Joseph.jr., 32,103,200. 
Dr. Josiah, 99, 100, 219, 

220, 231, 236. 
Levi, 186, 211. 
Luke, 167, 170. 
Sampson V. S., 241, 244, 

277. 
Samuel, 220. 
Solon, 305. 
Willard, Aaron, 130. 
Abel, 103, 198, 199, 200, 

229, 231. 
Col. Abijah, 45-49, 129, 

195-7, 200. 
Maj. Caleb, 68, 76. 
Harrison, 292. 
Capt. Jonathan, 27. 
Joseph, quoted, 12, 14, 

109, 170, 172, 206, 259. 
Joseph, 230, 320. 
Secy. Josiah, «3, 49. 
Col. Josiah, 28. 
Col. Levi, 21, 80. 198, 234. 
Levi, jr., 198. 



/ 



Dr. Robert, 45. 

Col. Samuel, 18-28, 30. 

Samuel, 197. 

Dea. William, 187, 247. 
Williams, Col. Israel, 33, 60. 

John S., 292, 

Capt. William, 82. 
Willis, George, 292. 
Wilson, David, 44. 

Capt. Francis, 157. 
Winship, Ephraim, 125. 

Joshua, 13. 
Winslow, Col. John, 32, 41, 

53. 91- 
Winthrop, Gov. John, 347. 
Wise, Oliver M,, 292. 
Witt, Samuel, 39. 
Wolfe, Gen. James, 63, 79. 
Wood, Lt. Ebenezer, 121, 
126. 

Col. Ezra, 164. 

Hannah, 40. 

John, 126. 

Capt. Jonathan, 87. 

Joseph, 126. 

Lemuel, diary of, 78. 

Levi P., 299. 

Capt. Samuel, 129. 
Woodbridge, Capt, Chris- 
tian, 182. 
Woodward, Ens. John, 88. 
Woolly, Joseph, 37. 
Wright, Archibald D., 292. 

Capt. Nathaniel, 174. 
Wyman, Capt. Abijah, 129. 

Lt. John, 121. 

Jonas, 104, 185. 214. 

Nathaniel, 94. 95. 

Col. Powell T., 311. 
7 EWERS, Robert, 44. 



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